Ghostface pounded after the cats as they headed towards the peace hills. It was dark now, and a small breeze had picked up. Barkstar and Shadedpelt lead the way, followed by Coldpelt, the senior warrior, Mossclaw who ran beside Ghostface, Lichenfur and Mudear, two elders, Prairieheart, Mottledsong and a longhaired ginger apprentice. Shrubfoot and Mottledsong stayed behind to tend to Thunderpaw, who's condition didn't seem to be getting any better. 'Perhaps that's why Mottledsong has been so uptight.' Ghostface thought.
They soon reached the peace hills, but they didn't descend yet. Marshclan was already there. The cats waited, tense with excitement, for a signal from Barkstar. After a moment, Barkstar flicked his tail and ran down into the hills.
When they reached the bottom, MarshClan's leader, Leekstar padded over towards Barkstar and they began to talk. The rest of the cats mingled with the Marshclan cats. Ghostface turned to Mossclaw, "Where are the other clans?"
"They'll be here soon." Mossclaw said. Mudwhisker, the Marshclan medicine cat, padded up to the two toms.
"Glad to see you're alright." He said, nodding politely. "How's Thunderpaw?"
"She's okay, Shrubfoot stayed with her at camp." Mossclaw said.
Suddenly Hillsclan and Woodclan both descended towards the hills. Soon the hills, which had been empty, were crowded with cats. There were elders, talking together and laughing about old battles while a few apprentices listened to their tales. The leaders mingled with everyone. Ghostface turned around to say something to Mossclaw, but the tom had disappeared. Ghostface looked around for him, then spotted him with Prairieheart. Chuckling, Ghostface padded around, looking for someone to talk to.
He spotted a group of cats listening to Finchclaw of Marshclan.
"… So we leapt out of the reeds, hissing and blocking their path. We asked them what they were doing there and soon it turned into a full out brawl. Two of their warriors ran off to get help, leaving just a warrior and an apprentice. Hey, there he is now!" Finchclaw said, looking at Ghostface. The cats turned to look at him and he padded over and sat next to them.
"I don't recognize you. What's your name?" Said a pretty cream she-cat with brownish black legs, face, tail and on tips of her ears.
"I'm… new to Grassclan. My name is Ghostface." The tom said, looking down.
"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm FawnShadow. I'm from Hillsclan."
"Finish the story!" An impatient ginger apprentice cried out.
"Care to finish the story, Ghostface?" Finchclaw asked.
Ghostface looked at the cats nervously, then nodded, "I leapt in front of Thunderpaw to protect her as they cats circled us. They stopped and started arguing over what they were going to do with us, then they decided to go get their leader and medicine cat to treat Thunderpaw."
"Unheard of! Since when did Marshclan have such mercy?" Said a black and white tom that smelled of Woodclan. The cats laughed.
"Then they decided to take us back to Grassclan." Ghostface said.
"How did you get in their territory in the first place?" Fawnshadow asked, looking at him curiously with her hazel eyes.
"We were on a patrol and then the stream was flooded and Thunderpaw fell into it so we had to jump in to save her. We got swept straight in the middle of Marshclan territory."
"Wow!" An apprentice said.
Finchclaw shrugged.
"How brave!" Fawnshadow said, smiling and purring.
Ghostface smiled and then looked at his paws.
Suddenly all the cats sat in the center, the voices quieting to hushed whispers. Looking up, Ghostface saw that each of the leaders were sitting on each of the four hills that surrounded the center, but one of the hills was vacant. The cats looked around in confusion until a long-haired ginger tom with white on the tip of his bottle brush tail padded up.
"I, Foxtail, deputy of WoodClan will speak on behalf of Gorsestar. He couldn't make it due to a sickness." The fierce looking cat said, sitting down with his tail curled around his paws. The crowd began to murmur curiously, and some of the elders began the hiss scornfully amongst themselves.
"No cat but a clan leader can speak for its clan!"
"This is absurd!"
The WoodClan cats didn't move, seeming to ignore the elder's scorn as they watched Foxtail intently.
Foxtail gazed around as if waiting for any of the cats to openly object him, his hawk like eyes swept over the crowd. When no one spoke up, he continued, "It's nothing to worry about. Though it does seem as if something is going around."
"Yes," Said the leader of HillsClan, a long-haired brown tabby with a white chest and paws, "A couple of our apprentices seem to have come down with something too."
Foxtail nodded, "Yes, Longstar, but it doesn't seem contagious. Probably a couple bad mice." A small chuckle went through the crowd. "But over all WoodClan is doing well."
After Foxtail nodded to signal he was finished, Longstar spoke slowly, "Hillsclan is doing well. The storm yesterday flooded the stream, but no one was harmed."
"Yes, our stream did indeed also flood, spreading at least 10 feet wider. No one in our clan seems to have gotten sick. Otherwise prey is fairly plentiful, despite the storm." Leekstar said, not mentioning the battle two days before.
Barkstar nodded and said, "Grassclan also fairs well, as always before leaf-bare hits. A patrol fell into the stream when the storm hit, but they have returned safely. But, our patrols have noticed the scents of HillsClan cats on the boulder rock place, though." The brown tom turned and looked at Longstar, who glared defiantly back.
"If your warriors have been hunting on it, I ask you tell them to stop. It seems you have enough prey, as you stated." Barkstar said, continuing his glare, then he turned back to the rest of the assembled cats. "Oh, yes. And I would like to announce we have a new warrior, Ghostface."
Ghostface looked around nervously, trying to sit up straight as everyone in the clearing turned to look at him. The GrassClan cats mrrowed in cheering, and he saw Fawnshadow, who still sat beside him smile and mrrow, too. The cats looked back at Barkstar, looking for an explanation for the new cat joining the clan, but Barkstar padded down from the hill, ending the gathering. The other leaders paused, then padded down also.
Ghostface turned to Fawnshadow. "See you… at the next gathering, perhaps." The she-cat nodded and padded towards where her clan was grouping.
Mossclaw padded over to Ghostface with Prairieheart by his side. The golden she cat asked, "Who was that?"
"Fawnshadow. She's from Hillsclan."
"Weird how everyone is getting sick, huh?" Mossclaw said, looking around at the emptying hills. "I've never heard of a leader not appearing for a gathering!"
"Come on!" Coldpelt called to them, disappearing into their territory. The three cats headed back to camp; ready to tell the remaining cats the news.