Rising Moon
Jedi Goat
Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.
Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, Rabbitstorm and Swiftstream! But I can't tell you what the danger is :P
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Chapter 8
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!"
Cats crept from their dens, dancing shadows long on the ground in the growing dusk. Moonpaw and Cinderpaw weaved through the crowd to meet up with the other apprentices: Honeypaw, Oakpaw and Wolfpaw. Oakpaw flicked his tail at them, and Wolfpaw murmured a quiet greeting. It had been only a week since Molepaw's death; since then, Mousepaw and Hazelpaw had earned their warrior names. Now they were Mousetail and Hazelgaze, seated nearby with their brother, Berryfoot.
Firestar waited until all of ThunderClan was congregated below him, and then he began. "Tonight is the Gathering; the chosen cats to go are Brambleclaw, Leafpool, Moonpaw, Cinderpaw, Sandstorm, Dustpelt, Mousetail, Hazelgaze, Berryfoot, Oakpaw and Wolfpaw!"
"Lucky," Honeypaw mumbled, glancing enviously at her sisters.
"Don't worry, you'll be chosen soon," reassured Cinderpaw, giving her ear an affectionate lick.
"Before we leave," Firestar continued, "Daisy has an important announcement."
He leaped down from the Highledge and gestured for her to approach him. Nervously, the she-cat slipped through the crowd toward him.
"You have been with this clan for many moons," Firestar solemnly stated.
Daisy cast a proud look back at her children. "And my kits have all grown into great warriors."
Firestar nodded. "But yet you are not satisfied with clan life."
"Your clan is just fine," she meowed quickly, "it's just not the life for me. I liked the safety of the barn, and…well, now that my kits no longer need me-"
"We still love you, mother!" came Berryfoot's yowl.
Daisy smiled sadly. "I am not of much use to the clan."
Firestar dipped his head. "I accept your resignation, Daisy. ThunderClan will remember you."
He raised his head. "We will take you to the Twoleg barn on the way to the Gathering."
The ThunderClan leader stood, and with a wave of his tail, the chosen cats set off for the entrance tunnel. He paused long enough to give Cloudtail charge of the camp, and then Firestar bounded off to join the others.
Moonpaw skipped along excitedly, eager for her first-ever Gathering. She grinned at Oakpaw and Wolfpaw. "Won't this be so exciting?"
"I bet there'll be hundreds of cats!" Wolfpaw's blue eyes shone.
Firestar signaled for the cats to halt; they had reached the WindClan border. Then he nodded and they splashed across the stream.
Running across the moorland, hugging the lake's edge with the wind whistling through her fur, Moonpaw could almost laugh out loud. She had never felt so alive! Her spirit flew like a bird, and her paws felt like they could run forever.
Soon after, the clan stopped at a Twolegplace. Moonpaw stuck with her friends, observing the Twoleg nests with wide eyes. There were so many weird smells and sights!
"Look – more cats." A gray-white tom padded out from one of the Twoleg structures. This reddish wood building was different; it had a prey-scent and many cat-scents. With a jolt Moonpaw understood that this was the barn.
Firestar dipped his head to the cat. "Hello, Smoky."
Daisy pushed her way to the front of the clan and Smoky gave a start. "Daisy, is that you? You look like a wild cat!"
Daisy purred, flicking his ear with her tail. "Of course I do. I've been living with them, mousebrain."
"You even talk like one," Smoky laughed.
"I'm here to stay this time," she continued. "But first, look at our kits!"
At that moment, Berryfoot, Mousetail and Hazelgaze emerged from the group.
Smoky's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Berry, Mouse and Hazel! You're all grown up!"
Firestar cleared his throat. "We must be going now; we have to attend the Gathering. Berryfoot, Mousetail, Hazelgaze, if you wish to stay and visit your parents instead, you're welcome to."
Smoky shook his head ruefully. "The Nofurs will be spittin' mad if they see you." He touched noses with each of his kits in turn. "Goodbye. Until the next Gathering, that is."
"We'll see you again," Berryfoot promised as his mother tearfully added her goodbyes.
"Be good for the clan!" Daisy called over her shoulder as she and Smoky padded away into the barn.
ThunderClan watched until the cats had disappeared inside, and then they traveled onward.
Soon the cats reached a fallen log, stretching across the lake onto the Gathering island. Other clans milled around it, waiting for their turns. The clan separated into the crowd, and Moonpaw, Oakpaw and Wolfpaw, exchanging nervous glances, grouped together.
"Hi!" A brown she-cat bounded up to them, followed by another darker brown she-cat and a gray tom. A ShadowClan scent wafted around them. "I'm Applepaw," she announced proudly. "This is my sister, Marshpaw, and my brother, Toadpaw."
Wolfpaw supplied introductions for them, and the apprentices chatted until it was their turn to cross the log.
Moonpaw gazed up at the log fearfully, and then nudged Oakpaw ahead of her. The white-and-brown tom clambered up the roots and started across. He paused after a few steps to look back. "C'mon! Don't be scared kits!"
"I am not a scared kit," Wolfpaw huffed, pouncing up onto the log. Moonpaw scrambled after her.
Forcing herself to not look down, she crawled slowly across. Finally she reached the other end, and breathed a sigh of relief to be one firm ground once more.
She followed the rest of the cats into a clearing. The pelts weaved together into a fine multicolored quilt. Moonpaw searched the crowd, looking for cats she recognized. Brambleclaw was seated with a ShadowClan tortoiseshell; Mousetail and Hazelgaze were boasting their new warrior status to any cat who would listen; and Leafpool, Cinderpaw, Mothwing and Willowpaw were seated together. Moonpaw gestured her friends over to the medicine cat.
Leafpool glanced up, giving Moonpaw a small smile before turning back to the oak tree that stood at the front of the clearing. Moonpaw saw now that the four leaders of the clans were seated on the grand tree's branches. At the base of the tree, the other three deputies stood at attention. Brambleclaw was soon weaving his way toward them.
"Cats of all clans!" Blackstar, the ShadowClan leader, yowled, beginning the Gathering. Almost immediately, there was silence. No cat dared disrespect a leader during the sacred Gathering.
"ShadowClan has little to report," he announced. "We have a new warrior: Nightpaw has now become Nightfang."
There were a few scattered cheers, mostly from ShadowClan. Moonpaw caught sight of a black tom sitting below the oak, raising his head proudly. His gaze swept the crowd, and as he turned, she saw a scar slicing from his eye to his muzzle. Moonpaw's blood suddenly ran cold. Her terrifying dream from the Moonpool came back in striking detail. The black tom…Nightfang…killed Spiderleg.
Leafpool was watching Nightfang with an unreadable expression on her face. "The prophecy…" Moonpaw heard her breathe.
Moonpaw turned to her mentor, wanting to tell her what she knew, but Firestar had already stepped up.
"ThunderClan, too, has new warriors to celebrate. Mousetail and Hazelgaze have joined our ranks."
Moonpaw cheered with the other ThunderClan cats, seeing the brother and sister swell with pride.
Firestar quickly silenced them with his tail. "We have grave news, too. A week ago, one of our apprentices was killed while out hunting on our territory. The causes of his death are still unknown. Has any other clan had this happen?"
After a long look at the ThunderClan leader, Onestar nodded. "A WindClan apprentice was found dead just a few days ago."
A white she-cat wailed, "Alpinepaw!" A nearby WindClan tom curled his tail around her.
Leopardstar, leader of RiverClan, shook her head. "What's happening to them?"
"Your apprentices are just mousebrained, that's what," Blackstar snapped. "Probably wandering right into a fox's jaws."
Dustpelt and several other WindClan and ThunderClan cats leaped to their paws, growling.
With a yowl, Leopardstar silenced the angry cats. "This threat could very well spread to our clans!" she hissed at him. "It concerns us, too!"
Firestar stepped between them. "Whatever it is, all clans should remain alert." He looked at the other leaders to see them nodding, Leopardstar and Blackstar grudgingly. "ThunderClan do not know what it is that killed Molepaw. The scent left on his fur was strange. All we know is that some large creature is hunting us."
Onestar nodded. "There were tooth and claw marks left on the body. They were too large to have been cat's."
Firestar nodded. "That was just as we found." He stepped back, allowing Onestar to take his turn.
"Other than the already stated news, WindClan have two new apprentices: Cougarpaw, apprentice to Barkface, and Snowpaw, apprentice to Weaselfur."
Moonpaw peered around and spotted the WindClan medicine cat with a light brown tom. She smiled, and made a mental note to congratulate the new apprentice later.
Leopardstar announced, "RiverClan has little new news. The Twolegs are leaving their greenleaf Twolegplace."
She stepped back, and with a nod concluded the meeting. The leaders jumped down from the tree as the cats slowly streamed out of the clearing. Moonpaw, Cinderpaw and Leafpool went to greet Barkface and his new apprentice. Littlecloud of ShadowClan was already talking to them.
"Hi!" Moonpaw called, bounding up to Cougarpaw. "I'm Moonpaw, and this is Cinderpaw. We're from ThunderClan."
Cougarpaw dipped his head. "Hello."
"So, how do you like medicine cat life?" Cinderpaw asked eagerly.
"It's interesting." His amber eyes stretched wide. "But there's so many things to remember!"
Cinderpaw purred in amusement, while Moonpaw demanded excitedly, "Did you go to the Moonpool yet?"
"Not yet," Cougarpaw admitted. "I've heard of it, though."
"Moonpaw!" Wolfpaw and Oakpaw were waiting for her.
She flicked her tail at them and turned back to Cougarpaw. "I gotta go. I'll see you on the way to the Moonpool!"
Cougarpaw nodded, and she raced back to join her friends.
To be continued...
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