Sitting patiently and waiting was one of Destiny's worst nightmares.
But here she sat, bored to death, her tiny brain yearning for stimulation. These gatherings are boring. When will SnowClan get here?
"Welcome to the gathering," Titanstar meowed, "SnowClan will be here shortly. In the meantime, please occupy yourself by talking with another cat, or by playing chase if you're a kit or apprentice. Thanks for your patience."
Please, oh please, get this over with. StarClan, do anything to get me out of this.
Days seemed to go by while the wait for SnowClan continued. The only cat from this Clan who came, however, was a clueless apprentice by the name of Whitepaw. Eventually, moonhigh passed, and the two leaders there were forced to start without Blizzardstar.
"Um, welcome to the gathering once again. I guess I will begin," Titanstar mewed. "It appears SnowClan is running very late, so we will proceed. I will start off with a few announcements."
All of a sudden a vast blanket of murmurs swept through the clearing. For a few heartbeats, Destiny felt like she was in the middle of a busy twolegplace, noise amplified to be 100 times louder, it seemed.
"First of all," meowed Titanstar as the cats silenced, "may I ask for everyone's help on this? One of our warriors, Pumaflight, is suffering from Greencough. May StarClan light his path and watch over him."
The two Clans that had gathered all began to whisper to themselves. Destiny sat quietly, uncomfortably. This crowd makes me want to bolt.
"Now, for a slightly more urgent matter. Earlier today, a warrior named Skyclaw who was on the morning patrol was attacked by the SunClan warrior Tigerfang. He took a bigger hit than our warrior, but we ask you to keep within your borders."
"Wrong! All wrong!" Houndstar shouted. "Tigerfang was hunting- outside of your borders, mind you- and was attacked by Skyclaw. He had to give up his fresh-kill and was badly injured. You could have killed him! You are the one who should keep your warriors under control!"
"Can you stop yowling and listen?" the RainClan leader hissed. "According to Skyclaw, it happened in the marsh, which is our territory. Tigerfang claimed that it was his territoryand attacked our warrior. She ripped at his throat and made him give up the rabbit he had caught. In the midst of it, Skyclaw ended up with a bleeding leg. I know your warrior ended up faring much worse scars, but we will do that again if necessary. Please refrain from breaking the Warrior Code, especially since it's leaf-bare and a lot of our cats are starving. The marsh has the worst leaf-bare."
"It's true," Tigerfang mewed weakly as he limped up next to Houndstar. "I did that. I promised I would never do it again." His voice cracked and was barely audible, but he didn't bother speaking up. "Truth is, after I recovered from this, I would bring the patrol and invade. I know, however, that I am not the leader of the Clan. Also, I know RainClan stands strong despite terrible circumstances. I sincerely apologize. I was mouse-brained to do that." He bared his fangs, not trying to intimidate, but it was merely his body threatening to cough up blood.
Destiny got a good look at his torn-up, blood-red throat while he walked away from his leader. She gulped when she saw the shard of a fang stuck in his neck. That must really hurt. Thank StarClan he's alive. No cat deserves to die like that.
"Well, I guess I'll hand over the attention of you guys to Houndstar," Titanstar meowed sheepishly.
"Thank you." Houndstar yawned, stretched, and meowed, "I would like to announce that Graypaw, an apprentice in SunClan, has been promoted to a warrior by the name of Graytail. Otherwise, I have nothing else to say."
Excited cats began to meow what seemed like static to Destiny. She slunk away, glad that she was allowed to leave this cramped place. The kit padded back to the nursery, which was a long trek, when a drop of light befell the clearing- sunrise.
SnowClan never came.
Why would SnowClan not come to the gathering?
This was a question that stumped all cats everywhere- Clan cats, loners and even rogues.
But one important detail was missing. The gathering before this one, Blizzardstar had whispered something to the other two leaders. What had she said? And why aren't Titanstar and Houndstar telling their Clans? Is SnowClan even still alive?
It was something that haunted curious Destiny. She was the most timid cat, but that didn't mean she couldn't observe Clan politics at her young age.
"Destiny!" Shouts came from her mother, Cheetahpelt. "Destiny! Come eat some fresh-kill! You're probably hungry, right?"
Leave me alone, I'm pondering. And I'm not hungry.
"Sorry, but I'm not hungry," Destiny mewed.
"More for your brothers, then! Be sure to eat soon before the other cats hog everything."
"Fine." Destiny got up from the slightly moist ground and padded toward the fresh-kill pile as her mommy called Shark and Orca. She hesitantly pulled out a mouse, dragged it a fox-length or so away, and ripped at the skin, revealing the hearty meat within. She carefully nipped at the meal and chewed, swallowed.
Orca and Shark came dashing rambunctiously toward the fresh-kill pile, and Destiny retreated farther away. More cats gathered around the repasts, and the kit watched uncomfortably as they all tore the skins apart.
She fed on a little bit more of the mouse until she had pushed her appetite past its limit. "Mom, I can't eat anymore. Do you want the rest of this?"
Cheetahpelt shook her head, and Destiny's brothers ran toward her. She backed up as she watched the same thing unfold, the ripping and the ruthless chowing.
Shivering from the terrible cold, she padded away to the nursery for a nap.
Destiny woke up in a large, open plain. She peered around. Many cats had gathered and were looking at a rust-colored cat who began to speak.
"Cats of all Clans," he began, "and especially cats of BloodClan, you have no need to believe me or disbelieve me. Tigerstar's crimes speak for themselves."
Destiny looked at one of the cats, who was watching intently.
"Hey," she mewed, "what's going on?"
The cat sushed her, and she did as told, looking back at the tom speaking.
"When he was still a warrior of ThunderClan, he murdered our deputy, Redtail, hoping to be made deputy himself. First Lionheart was chosen as deputy, but when that noble warrior died in a fight with ShadowClan, Tigerstar acheived his ambition at last."
He paused for a moment. All cats in the area were silent, except for a mumble from a cat near the kit. "Mew away, little kittypet. It won't change anything."
The cat up speaking seemed not to hear who Destiny knew was Tigerstar. "Being deputy wasn't enough. Tigerstar wanted to be leader of ThunderClan. He set a trap for Bluestar by the Thunderpath, but my own apprentice strayed into it instead. That's how Cinderpelt came by her crippled leg."
A shocked murmur swept through the clearing. Destiny overheard one cat saying, "Poor Cinderpelt! I hope she's okay."
"Then Tigerstar conspired with Brokentail, the former leader of ShadowClan, who was ThunderClan's prisoner," he continued. "He brought a pack of rogues into ThunderClan camp, and tried to murder Bluestar with his own paws. I stopped him, and when ThunderClan had beaten off the attack we drove him into exile. As a rogue, he slaughtered yet another one of our warriors, Runningwind. Then before we knew what he was up to, he made himself leader of ShadowClan."
The cat paused and looked around him. Except for two cats nearby, he had the attention of every cat in the clearing.
"But Tigerstar still wanted revenge on ThunderClan. Three moons ago, a pack of dogs got loose in the forest. Tigerstar caught prey for them, then laid a trail of dead rabbits between the dogs' lair and ThunderClan camp to lead them to us. He murdered one of our queens, Brindleface, and left her near the camp to give the dogs a taste for cat blood. If we hadn't found out in time to escape, the whole of ThunderClan could have been torn to pieces.
"Good riddance," Tigerstar growled.
"As it was, our leader, Bluestar, died the bravest death of any cat, saving me and the rest of the Clan from the pack," the cat speaking meowed.
Silence greeted the cat as his story came to an end. He glanced at an orange cat with black spots for a moment. "This is Tigerstar's history," he meowed urgently, turning to look at a small black cat. "It all shows one thing- that he'll do anything for power. If he promised you a share of the forest, don't believe him. He won't give up one pawprint, not to you or any cat."
All of a sudden a huge swirl of darkness covered the kit's eyes, and exhilaration pushed her body from an unconscious state into a state of awareness. Light nearly blinded the kit.
Destiny was woken up.
And a rust-colored cat with black stripes was standing over her.