Chapter 3

The Gathering


A/N: Hey it's me again! (Well duh,who else would it be? MY CAT! Right…) Anyways just letting you know for no apparent reason that the chapters in this story are probably going to be skipping from Thunderpaw to Silverpaw, possibly staying on one for the majority. Oh, and the dream in this chapter, yeah that's just in there for no reason. It doesn't actually mean anything, just a random thing I put in there… Yeah… Oh and also Thunderpaws wound has somehow magically healed overnight, don't ask me how but it just has because I couldn't be stuffed waiting for it to heal. And it's the next day in the story as well.


Thunderpaw crouched in the training hollow, studying his mentor for signs of where he could attack. Featherwing surveyed him through narrowed grey eyes, as he flicked through all the various points he could hit. Back? No that would be too obvious… Hmm… I'll try and trick her!

Thunderpaw wriggled his haunches and focused his eyes on the top of Featherwing's head, showing her he was going to jump over her and attack her from behind. When he jumped, Featherwing dodged so that instead of changing his aim to her paws and barreling into her, he crashed into the dirt and a cloud of dust rose from around him. He spluttered and coughed as a heavy weight fell on him.

"Good try, but no cat would be fooled by that. You have to know how they will counter you first." Featherwing meowed, removing herself from his back. Thunderpaw pulled himself up and staggered slightly. He blinked and sat down heavily.

"Alright." Featherwing stated. "You've had enough for today. You're free to go. Good job." She waved her tail and softly trotted away.

Thunderpaw shook himself and padded out of the hollow towards the den where he was going to rest.

"Thunderpaw!" Flamestar called, the large tom was making his way across the clearing to where Thunderpaw was standing.

"Hello Flamestar." Thunderpaw mewed.

Flamestar dipped his head in response. "How are you finding Clan life?"

"Great!"

"What about Silverpaw?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen her for a while."

"Hm.. Well anyway, I came to tell you that you and your sister are going to the gathering tonight. We meet at the entrance just before moonhigh." Flamestar turned around and padded off in the other direction.

"So you're going to the gathering are you, Thunderpaw?" It was more of a rhetorical question that came from behind.

Thunderpaw whirled around to see who had snuck up on him. A she-cat stood behind him, green eyes glinting in the sunlight. She had a golden pelt that made her look like a lion. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Sunpaw."

"Why is it that everyone knows me but I don't know anyone?"

"Because we all saw your ceremony. And you have yet to meet the whole Clan. My mentor's Brackenfur." She mewed with a flick of her tail towards a light brown tabby exchanging words with a snow-white she-cat. "And that's Frostpelt. His mate."

"Oh."

"Well I've got to go, I'll see you round." Sunpaw padded towards Brackenfur as he headed their way.

Thunderpaw padded into the den, it was empty. Silverpaw must be out with Duskpelt..

He slunk into his nest and turned around before settling down in a comfortable position. He lay his head down on his paws and closed his eyes as he sunk into the world of dreams…

-.- Dream -.-

Thunderpaw was sitting next to the stream running through ThunderClan territory, the scent of mouse washed over his senses as he started to salivate. Locating the mouse in the foliage, he settled down to wait for it to poke its head out.

Soon enough, the mouse produced its head from the bush, Thunderpaw swiped a tongue over his teeth and wriggled with pleasure as he started to jump. Flying through the air, Thunderpaw landed with a thump on the ground, lifting up his paws, he saw that the mouse had disappeared. He started and turned around a few times, looking for where it could have got to. He pricked his ears and followed the scent of mouse along the stream bank until he came to the RiverClan boundary where the ground started to decent slightly. He glanced behind him and blinked as a mouse came scurrying by. Thunderpaw narrowed his eyes as more mice started swarming around in the trees, it was odd how all these mice were converging together in one spot.

Suddenly, all the mice turned to face him, they bared their sharp little fangs and their eyes turned to red. The mice swarmed forward in an unstoppable rage as they ran towards him! Thunderpaw found himself frozen to the spot. He couldn't go into RiverClan territory! It was against the warrior code! He was still rooted there as the mice started to swarm over his feet, nipping him sharply. Some started to run up his paws and massed on his back, all their combined weight and biting made him fall to the forest floor. He cried out in pain as one of the mice started to nibble on his ear, twisting it painfully this way and that.

A loud yowl cut through the trees. Maybe a cat to rescue him from this torment!

-.-End Dream-.-

Thunderpaw awoke panting and looking around the den wildly. He sighed with relief, there were no killer mice out to get him.

The shrub at the entrance rustled as a midnight black cat made its way into the den. It was Blackpaw.

"Hey" He mewed. "Flamestar just called a meeting, you shouldn't miss it."

"Thanks." Thunderpaw replied, shaking the moss from his pelt and quickly smoothing down his fur.

"I could hear you from outside the den. It sounded like you were having a violent dream. What happened?"

"Nothing." Thunderpaw shouldered his way out of the den, leaving Blackpaw to pad after him.

"You're going to the gathering aren't you. So are me and Sleekpaw."

"What happens at a gathering?"

"Well from what I've heard from Ashpaw you get to meet lots of cats from different Clans and hear their news."

Thunderpaw and Blackpaw took their seats near Sleekpaw and Silverpaw, who looked as though they were chatting happily together.

"Cats of ThunderClan, I have a special announcement to make." Flamestar meowed from the Highrock. "Razorclaw and Foxtail, are you both satisfied that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?"

Foxtail dipped his head. "I am."

Razorclaw glanced at his apprentice and blinked warmly. "I am."

"Ashpaw, Ebonypaw, please step forward." Flamestar leapt from the Highrock and padded up to the approaching apprentices.

"I, Flamestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of you noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."

Flamestar locked gazes with the sooty gray cat that was Ashpaw.

"Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Ashpaw's whiskers trembled with excitement. "I do." He meowed clearly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Ashpaw, from this moment you will be known as Ashfur. StarClan honors your courage and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Flamestar rested his muzzle on the top of Ashfur's head. Ashfur gave his leader a respectful lick on the shoulder, and went to join the other warriors, his eyes shining with delight.

"Ebonypaw." Flamestar continued. Looking now at the serene black cat poised in front of him. "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

The only thing that gave away Ebonypaws excitement were her eyes, that were shining like a full moon. "I do"

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Ebonypaw, from this moment you will be known as Ebonywood. StarClan honors your courage and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Flamestar repeated the same gesture, with Ebonywood stooping to lick his shoulder.

"Ashfur! Ebonywood! Ashfur! Ebonywood!" The Clan raised their voices to greet them by their new names.

"You will both sit vigil tonight without talking. I'm afraid this means that you will miss out on the gathering. On that note, the cats attending the gathering will be: Brackenfur, Rippledstripe, Bluethorn, Darktail, Wolfheart, Blackpaw, Sleekpaw, Thunderpaw and Silverpaw. Meet at the entrance before moonhigh."

-()-

Silverpaws p.o.v

"That sounds like fun!" Sleekpaw mewed excitedly. Over the day, Sliverpaw and Sleekpaw had become fast friends.

"Yeah, it does, I can't wait to meet some cats from the other Clans!"

Sleekpaw purred happily as they padded over to the fresh-kill pile like the other named cats were doing. "When we get there I'll introduce you to some of the RiverClan apprentices."

They both chose a piece of fresh-kill and sat down to eat, occasionally pausing to make a comment.

Silverpaw pulled the feathers off her chaffinch one by one, dropping them on the ground beside her.

"Urgh, I'm never having one of these again, they're too feathery." She meowed, spitting out a feather that had stuck to her tongue.

Sleekpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement as the feather floated back down to land on Silverpaws nose.

Finally, when they had finished eating, Silverpaw noticed that the other cats were starting to clean each other.

Seeing her friends confused expression, Sleekpaw meowed an explanation. "They're sharing tongues, it's a Clan thing."

"Oh."

Sleekpaw blinked and started to groom Silverpaws pelt while Silverpaw purred and bent down to clean her friends head.

-()-

After they had shared tongues, the other cats started to drift off to their dens, leaving Ashfur and Ebonywood to sit their vigil. After a while, the cats going to the gathering started to group at the entrance as the moon rose.

Silverpaw and Thunderpaw were pressed close together. The wind ruffling their fur and making them cold.

"Where were you today?" Thunderpaw mewed.

"Training with Duskpelt. We used the training hollow just after you had left, otherwise you would have seen me."

"Oh."

Flamestar flicked his tail and the assembled cats ran through the entrance, leaping over logs and bouncing through the undergrowth. Flamestar lead the way with Paddedfoot behind him. Running underneath Silverpelt, Silverpaw felt alive, her fur prickling with happiness to be under StarClan. It was obvious that her brother felt the same way as he was pelting along next to her, tail held high in the air.

When they got to the edge of a descent, Flamestar halted, along with the other cats behind him.

They paused for a while to catch their breath, and then ran down the descent, coming out in a large clearing that cats were milling around in.

Flamestar continued up to a branch of the huge tree that was in the middle of the clearing. Paddedfoot followed him, sitting in the roots of the tree talking to another cat that was sitting there. She saw Sleekpaw run off towards some other cats and so she sat down on the outskirts, taking in the sights and watching the other cats.

The moon shone brightly above, illuminating the tree and all its branches. Thunderpaw and Blackpaw padded off to go find some other cats and she was left alone. A black apprentice with a strange scent approached her as she sat there, picking her way through the grass to come sit by Silverpaw.

"Hi, I'm Nightpaw. I'm from WindClan, who are you?" The dainty she-cat asked.

"I'm Silverpaw."

"Is this your first gathering?"

"Yeah. Is it yours?"

"No, it's my second. When are ShadowClan going to arrive? My paws are itching to get back."

"So what happens at a gathering?"

"Oh you know, the leaders get up and talk a bit. Just sharing news I guess. I-" Nightpaw broke off as Sleekpaw came bounding towards them, lashing her tail in agitation. Nightpaw sniffed and sauntered off, rejoining her own Clan.

"Hi Silverpaw." She mewed.

"Hey Sleekpaw, what's the matter?"

Sleekpaw shuffled her paws in the dirt, "I had a fight with Blackpaw just then, he thinks I should stop seeing-" She stopped abruptly and twitched her ears. "Nothing. Its nothing."

"Are you sure I can't help?" Silverpaw asked.

A small sigh escaped Sleekpaw, "Will you promise not to tell anyone?"

Silverpaw nodded.

"There's kinda this RiverClan warrior, see, and I like him. A lot. So I've been meeting him. But Blackpaw thinks we're gonna be found out. That I should stop seeing him." She spat out hurriedly.

"I don't get it. Is there something wrong with seeing a warrior from another Clan?"

"It's against the warrior code." Sleekpaw muttered, hanging her head. "Bluethorn would be disappointed with me if she knew."

Silverpaw slid her tail down Sleekpaw's flank. "It'll be alright, I'm sure." She murmured.

"You won't tell anyone will you?!" The tortoiseshell mewed, eyes wide and alarmed.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Thanks Silverpaw. I trust you." Sleekpaw brushed past her and went to sit next to her sister Mosspelt who had come with her mentor Whiteherb.

Silverpaw blinked and sat as Thunderpaw came up beside her.

"Sleekpaw seems agitated." He remarked.

"Mm.." Silverpaw batted the air with her paw and let it drop back to the earth. She flicked her tail and went to join Sleekpaw and Mosspelt, settling down as ShadowClan pelted down the hill. As their leader leapt up the tree, Flamestar let out a yowl for silence.

"The gathering will now begin, Earthstar, would you like to start?"

The large brown cat named Earthstar dipped his head. "All is well in WindClan, Willowleaf has kitted and we have two new apprentices, Dockpaw and Jupinerpaw." He moved his gaze to two apprentices sitting among the cats. "That is all."

This time a light silvery she-cat stepped forward. "That's Dewstar." Sleekpaw murmured.

"RiverClan have nothing new to report, the river is running well and everything is good. We are not weak in any way." Dewstar

spoke in a way that made you listen. When she spoke it was obvious she was in command.

As Dewstar finished speaking, Flamestar stood up. "ThunderClan have two new warriors, Ashfur and Ebonywood. They are sitting their vigil at the moment so you will not find them here. We also have two new apprentices, Thunderpaw and Silverpaw." Flamestar waved his tail in their direction and some of the cats turned to look at them. Silverpaw twitched her whiskers uncomfortably and tried to hide behind Sleekpaw, glancing at her brother she saw that he was holding his head high, not letting the attention daunt him.

As the cat's attention refocused on the leaders, a black-pelted tom rose from his seat and gave a loud yowl.

"WindClan has been stealing our prey!"

A large outburst came from the assembled WindClan cats and Silverpaw saw Nightpaw hissing in anger.

Earthstar unsheathed his claws from his pads. "WindClan has done no such thing!" He hissed.

"You don't have to know about it for it to be happening Earthstar! A patrol scented WindClan well within our borders. With the scent of fresh-kill!" The black tom bared his teeth and leapt from his branch.

"Stop!" Flamestar commanded. "Darkstar, you are angering StarClan, cease your advances!"

Darkstar hissed but let his fur lie flat. "That may be so, but it doesn't change the fact that this scumball is lying!"

"You may accuse me when you have better evidence. This gathering is over." Earthstar flicked his tail and rallied his Clan as they swept over the hill.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Flamestar meowed, locking onto Darkstar's firery eyes. Darkstar broke his gaze and hurried down the tree to join his deputy, leaving quickly.

The other Clans followed, leaving behind a dark, misty moon.


A/N – Yay! Another chapter complete! What will happen next in this story? No one knows! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!