Silvershine lay on a patch of grass and carefully licked her leg where the fox had bitten her. Most of the wound was covered over by dried blood, as it had been for the last few days. Still, Pepperface had insisted that Silvershine be confined to camp.
I hate feeling this useless, Silvershine thought. I can't hunt, I can't go on border patrols, I'll bet Pepperface won't even let me go to the Gathering tonight. Not like I've earned the right to go, risking my life and everyone else's on the patrol for an apprentice in another Clan.
Silvershine sighed wistfully and looked to the sky. Bright red and orange streaked the sky as the sun dipped out of sight. In the opposite direction, the full moon was cautiously peeking out over the mountains, as if it was waiting for the sun to leave before it could venture out into the sky.
Silvershine jumped as she felt something brush against her wound followed by a yelp. She turned around to see Flavorkit sniffing at her leg. "Flavorkit, what are you doing?!"
"Did I hurt you?" Flavorkit asked.
"No," Silvershine replied. "You just startled me."
"Oh, O.K." Flavorkit said. "Does it still hurt?"
"No," Silvershine said, "but Pepperface is still afraid I'll open it again if I do anything like hunting or fighting."
"Aww," Flavorkit padded behind Silvershine and flopped over the warrior's belly.
"Where are your brothers?" Silvershine asked, not used to seeing any of the three kits off on their own.
"I dunno," Flavorkit replied. "You goin' to the Gathering tonight?"
"I dunno," Silvershine mimicked the kit's answer, to which Flavorkit let out a mrrow of laughter. "I don't know if Pepperface'll let me."
"And why wouldn't I?" the medicine cat padded up to them.
"Oh I dunno," Silvershine said, "maybe I could open it up again jumping on the log."
"I doubt it," Pepperface said. "It's just one little leap…alright two, but still, that was almost half a moon ago, I think you should be fine. I think it's healing nicely, but just to be sure, I want you to go to the Gathering tonight."
"Why?" Silvershine asked.
"What no 'thank-you Pepperface'?" Pepperface teased.
"Well, yea, thanks," Silvershine said, "but why?"
"Well I think it's doing fine, but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on it," Pepperface said. "And since I'm going to the Gathering, it'd be the perfect opportunity to see how it holds up with more use, like jumping."
"Oh, O.K." Silvershine said.
"So Silvershine's gonna be O.K?" Flavorkit asked.
"Yes, Silvershine will be fine," Pepperface assured the kit.
"Great, looks like I'm going to the Gathering then," Silvershine said as Pepperface left.
"Are Gatherings fun?" Flavorkit asked. "They sound like fun! All the Clans go, don't they?"
"Yea, that's right," Silvershine said. "And I have friends in other Clans."
"Really?!" Flavorkit exclaimed. "Can I meet them?"
"You're not old enough to leave camp," Silvershine said. She looked at the kit and realized she hadn't noticed how much larger the kit was; she looked almost as large as an apprentice. "Flavorkit, how old are you?"
"Five-and-a-half moons!" Flavorkit said, proudly.
"Wow, already?!" Silvershine exclaimed. "Flavorkit, you're almost old enough to be an apprentice."
"Really?!" Flavorkit's eyes lit up. "And I get a mentor, right?"
"That's right," Silvershine said.
"You think you could mentor me?" Flavorkit asked.
"Um….I don't know," Silvershine admitted. "I've only been a warrior for a few moons. I think a more experienced warrior will mentor you and your brothers."
"But I want you to be my mentor!" Flavorkit cried. "You've taught me so much already! Why can't you teach me everything!?"
"Flavorkit, it's not up to me," Silvershine said, "it's Stormstar's decision. And I think Amberpelt gets to help too."
"Amberpelt was your mentor, right?" Flavorkit asked, "then she'll probably tell Stormstar to let you mentor me!"
"Maybe," Silvershine wasn't so sure. If anything, Amberpelt would know if she really wasn't ready for an apprentice which might lower her chances. "Well, whatever happens, I'll still be here. It's not like if I don't mentor you we'll never see each other again."
"I guess so," Flavorkit sighed.
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Silvershine scraped her claws against the weather-worn bark of the tree-bridge. No matter how many times she crossed it, she was still terrified of falling.
"You're doing fine," Pepperface assured her as she leapt up behind the silver warrior.
"Yea, I know," Silvershine said. With a deep breath, she hopped down to the island.
"Alright, you're just fine," Pepperface concluded. "As of tomorrow, you can resume warrior duties."
"Thanks, Pepperface," Silvershine said as the medicine cat headed deeper onto the island.
Silvershine went straight to the meeting place she and her friends had established. Snakepaw and Shadetail were there along with Dapplefur.
"Hi," Silvershine greeted them all. "No Dewpaw today?"
"She and Lizardpaw got in a fight," Shadetail explained, "so Phantomstar confined them both to camp today.
"And you weren't involved?" Silvershine turned to Snakepaw.
"I was on patrol," Snakepaw admitted, "or else I would've been!"
"What about you Da- woa, what happened to your nose?!" Silvershine exclaimed, noticing the claw marks of another cat across the gray tortoiseshell's muzzle.
"Border skirmish with ShadowClan," Dapplefur replied. "My brother and I were a part of it."
"You mean Fishpaw?" Silvershine asked.
Dapplefur shook her head. "No, Fishsplash."
"Wait, your brother's a warrior?!" Silvershine exclaimed. "But what about-"
"Dapplefur!" an angry yowl came from the undergrowth and Fishsplash leapt out, "why are you talking to her?"
"Dapplefur?" Shadetail asked, "way ta go. Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"I wanted everyone to be here for the announcement," Dapplefur replied. "And thanks for ruining it, you mouse-brain."
"You still didn't answer my question," Fishsplash growled.
"What's it to you who I talk to?" Dapplefur spat. "It's a Gathering, it doesn't matter what Clan they're in."
"Don't you know who that cat is?!" Fishsplash pointed accusingly with his tail at Silvershine.
"Look, I know Silvershine beat me in a fight and now you're all worked up about it," Dapplefur said, "but that was moons a-"
"She did not beat me!" Fishsplash insisted. "I would have so had her if we hadn't been interrupted!"
"Is that the only reason you came here?" Snakepaw snarled, "to be a fox-hearted pain-in-the-tail?!"
"Hey, watch your mouth!" Fishsplash snapped, "you're lucky it's the full moon or I'd-"
"No you watch it!" Snakepaw spat. "Everyone was just fine over here and now you show up and just start trying to turn us against each other!"
"How do you know?!" Fishsplash demanded, "I could just be here to talk to my sister!"
"Well, if you can't handle being nice to other cats, you can just talk to her in your own Clan," Shadetail growled, "now bug off!"
"Hmf, fine!" Fishsplash whirled around and held his tail in the air before bounding off into the undergrowth.
"He's such a mouse-brain," Dapplefur groaned. "I can't believe I once got mad at you for his sake."
"We all make mistakes," Silvershine said.
"Silvershine!" another mew came from the undergrowth, but this time Raccoonpaw emerged. "There you are! I thought I smelled you!"
"Oh, hey Raccoonpaw," Silvershine waved with her tail, "glad to see you made it to a Gathering."
"Yea, and it's great!" Raccoonpaw exclaimed, "I'm meeting a bunch of new cats and learning so much about how other Clans live!"
"So, who's this?" Shadetail asked.
"This is Raccoonpaw," Silvershine turned to her other friends. "He's a ThunderClan apprentice. Raccoonpaw, this is Snakepaw, and Shadetail of ShadowClan and Dapplefur of RiverClan."
"Wow! There's one of us from each Clan!" Raccoonpaw exclaimed.
"Yea, I guess there is," Silvershine admitted.
"So what are you all doing way over here?" Raccoonpaw asked.
"This is where we meet," Dapplefur explained. "Every Gathering we all come here, that way we know right away if anyone's not here."
"Yea, like my sister, Dewpaw, isn't here," Snakepaw said.
"Is it O.K. for me to come here every Gathering too?" Raccoonpaw asked.
"You don't need to ask permission!" Silvershine said with a mrrow of amusement. "You can do whatever you want!"
"Oh, alright," Raccoonpaw said. "But, I mean, can I be your guys' friend too?"
"Aww, how cute," Dapplefur said, "Raccoonpaw, friendships are formed not given away when you ask for it."
"Oh…alright," Raccoonpaw sighed.
"Now wait, that doesn't mean you can't be our friend," Shadetail put in quickly. "You've got to become our friend. Like hang out with us and talk before each Gathering."
"Like right now!" Raccoonpaw said excitedly.
"Yes, like right now," Silvershine said with a mrrow of amusement.
"What's wrong with you anyway?!" Snakepaw demanded, probably the only one of the group who did not find Raccoonpaw's antics adorable. "How do you not know what a friend is?"
"I…I never had friends before," Raccoonpaw said. "Well, wait, I guess I do have friends in ThunderClan. But…I never really thought about how we became friends. I dunno….."
"You were a rogue, weren't you?" Shadetail asked.
The other cats gasped at her question. Silvershine knew she would be ashamed to answer that, and she also knew Shadetail was not too fond of rogues.
"Y….yea," Raccoonpaw admitted, "why? Is that bad?"
"No, not really," Shadetail replied, to everyone's astonishment. "At least not for ThunderClan. They're known to take in just about any cat. I wouldn't be surprised if one day they adopt a cat that turns out to be a sick, twisted, evil, power-grabber bent on conquering all the clans!"
"Uh, wasn't that Tigerstar?" Snakepaw asked.
"No, I think Tigerstar was a forest cat by birth," Shadetail said.
"What about Sol?" Dapplefur asked. "Didn't your Clan take him in long ago?"
"Blackstar was a mouse-brain, O.K.?" Shadetail spat. "That can't be helped."
"Cats of all Clans!" the opening words of the Gathering rang out over the island.
"Fox dung, we're late!" Snakepaw exclaimed.
"Let's hurry!" Silvershine said, "we may be able to still make it!"
The five cats darted between the trees into the Island's center. Silvershine and Raccoonpaw were at the front of the group, Silvershine being the fastest and Racconpaw being the most used to maneuvering through trees. They stopped near the back of the gathered cats, not wanting to make their lateness known by trying to push through to get closer.
"Singepaw, Dirtpaw, and Songpaw are attending their first Gathering," Phantomstar was saying.
"Singepaw! Dirtpaw! Songpaw!" the cats cheered as Phantomstar stepped back making way for Lillystar.
"Today, RiverClan honors two new warriors," Lillystar announced, "Dapplefur and Fishsplash!"
"Dapplefur! Fishsplash!" the cats all cheered.
"Whirlkit and Splashkit have also left the nursery and are now Whirlpaw and Splashpaw!" Lillystar continued.
"Whirlpaw! Splashpaw!" the cats cheered.
"I wish I had news as good as everyone else's so far," Stormstar said, "but WindClan's time of celebration is coming. Our medicine cat says that Bluemist should have her kits any day now, and our three kits are almost ready to become apprentices. You all can expect great news from WindClan next moon." And with that, he stepped back, signaling with his tail for Mudstar to proceed.
"ThunderClan also has good news," Mudstar said, "we welcome Flowertail as a new warrior!"
"Flowertail! Flowertail!" the gathered cats cheered.
"And Finchtail has gone to the nursery in anticipation of kits," Mudstar continued. "But the news is not all good. Our patrols scented WindClan on our territory once again!" She glared accusingly at Stormstar.
"No WindClan cats crossed the border!" Stormstar defended. "And if I find any have, they will be punished severely."
"That would be comforting if I could trust your word," Mudstar snarled, her claws sliding out and scraping the bark. "It was a whole patrol scented there!"
"Does she have to start a fight every moon?" Dapplefur asked. "And with WindClan too. What's her problem?"
"Uh….I don't know," Silvershine replied. She knew full well what patrol Mudstar was referring to. Should she speak out? She wasn't sure just how the news would be taken, Snowsoot hadn't been too happy with it.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Stormstar said.
"Liar!" Mudstar snarled, seeming almost ready to pounce.
"STOP!" the cry came from beside Silvershine.
"Raccoonpaw, what is the meaning of this?!" Mudstar demanded. "You cannot speak out in a Gathering!"
"Stormstar's telling the truth!" Raccoonpaw exclaimed, "or at least, the cats who crossed the border did nothing wrong."
"Did you see them?!" Mudstar demanded.
Raccoonpaw swallowed hard, he was obviously nervous about what he had to say. "Yes. I was the reason they crossed the border. There were foxes on our territory, two of them, full grown. I think they may have been mates too. I found them, but they also found me. I was in real trouble. But then, out of the bushes, Silvershine comes out and attacks the foxes. She and the rest of the patrol drove them out and saved my life!"
"Is this true, Silvershine?" Stormstar turned to face her now.
"Yes," Silvershine dipped her head, "I was the first one to cross the border. I don't know what I was thinking! I don't think I was, I just saw another cat in trouble and I had to do something! Rainfall and Echobound followed to help me and then Snowsoot and Longears had no choice."
"I see," Stormstar said, "and why did no one tell me?" His eyes traveled closer to the front of the gathered cats. Silvershine guessed that's where Snowsoot was, she was the only other one from that patrol who had come.
"I…I didn't think it mattered enough to mention," Snowsoot's meow was crackling with nervousness.
No, you just thought that you had done something wrong in not stopping the patrol and didn't want Stormstar to think any less of you, Silvershine could hear her mother's voice as if she were thinking the thoughts herself.
Silvershine ignored this and simply directed her attention at what was going on around her.
"We'll talk about this after the Gathering," Stormstar warned.
"And as for you," Mudstar scolded Raccoonpaw, "you're confined to camp until after the next Gathering."
"Yes, Mudstar," Raccoonpaw sighed, although Silvershine doubted the ThunderClan leader had heard.
"Well, what's everyone still standing around for?" Mudstar asked, "the Gathering's over, get going!"
"Wow, that's rough," Dapplefur said to Raccoonpaw. "You didn't really do anything wrong either."
"And you didn't tell us you saved him," Shadetail turned to Silvershine.
"I didn't think it was important," Silvershine said.
"Important or not I still wanna hear this story," Shadetail said.
"Well, there's no time now," Snakepaw said, "we've gotta go."
"Next moon then," Shadetail said.
"Next moon," Silvershine agreed.
"You have fun without me," Raccoonpaw sighed.
"Well, maybe Mudstar will change her mind," Dapplefur soothed.
"She should, if you ask me," Silvershine said.
"Maybe," Racconpaw sighed. "Anyway, I gotta go."
"Bye," all the cats said as they parted ways to be with their clanmates.