The patrol, tightly knit as they made their way across the mossy camp-site, paused by the leader's den . The small, paw-dug hole by the Highstone was nestled underneath the speaking-rock, safely tucking away any cats hiding within. As the trio approached, Newtpaw could hear voices from the depths of the den and swiveled her ears forward, hoping to catch bits and pieces of the conversation.
"I'm telling you what I saw and nothing more. You can always disregard it."
"If only it were so simple." Asphodelstar's scathing remark could be heard; although the tortie apprentice knew it was impolite to listen in, she couldn't help herself as she perked her ears and shuffled closer.
"What Maplepaw saw and what I saw were the same. How irrefutable would you consider it?" Ears twitching at the mention of her brother, Newtpaw was certain that the voice belonged to Robincloud, her quiet, soft voice doing less to soothe the leader than it would a patient at any rate.
"I can't just... Oh, one moment." Asphodelstar's face appeared at the den's entrance shortly, staring about at the small patrol. "Oh, you're back. Good hunting to the three of you. Was anything amiss when you checked around?"
Roachnose stepped up to speak. "Nothing of importance. Some scattered fur from the young one's sibling, but we're sure it was just Maplepaw and Robincloud doing some herb gathering."
Asphodelstar muttered under something unintelligible under his breath, but paused only for a moment before replying proper. "Alright. Thank you, then. I'll have the moonhigh patrol organized after I wrap up this bit of business, but it shouldn't be long. Tell Russet-tail to come and speak to me at quarter-moon, if you could."
Roachnose gave a curt nod as Asphodelstar turned and continued his conversation, out of Newtpaw's range of hearing. This was disappointing, but she'd rather not get caught listening in to something she shouldn't be... even if the news concerned her brother.
Her first act, now that she was free to leave (with a dismissal nod from Roachnose), would be to track Maplepaw down. Predictably, as she padded up to the medicine cat's den, her brother's tail could be seen poking out from within the old, rotted stump, twitching a little. She took the moment to pounce on it, lightly. "Hey!"
"Ah!" The tom jumped in surprise and looked back with a nervous look, obviously shaken. "Oh, it's just you."
"Just me, huh?" Newtpaw snickered. "I'm sure you wouldn't address the leader that way."
"O-of course not." Maplepaw's tail tucked around his paws as he seated himself to face his sister. "Sorry."
Newtpaw walked forward and headbutted her brother in the chest good-naturedly. "Don't worry about it. I came over to check on you, you know." She backed up to look him in the eyes. "How's your first day been? Learning the cool secrets of the medicine den?"
Maplepaw's eyes darted elsewhere. "Yeah, I guess," he mumbled. "Uh... nothing really hard. We're just..." He paused, thinking about something. "She's teaching me how to properly dress wounds. She had me chew up some old leaves and put it on my foreleg so she could show me how to get the poultice wrapped up..."
"That's not too bad!" purred Newtpaw, happy to hear her brother's progress. "But I thought I smelled your scent near the border. Your fur was there, too - what was going on over there?"
Maplepaw looked tense as she said this. "We, uh... before we started, she had me trek out here to learn where the borage grows, or an herb that sounded like that, I think. It wasn't far from the boulder thataways."
"Ah, right. I remember." Newtpaw nodded knowingly. "Just curious. Roachnose was all worried about it, but I didn't think you'd be turning tail so soon after graduating!" Smiling, she leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against the side of his neck affectionately. "I'm glad it hasn't been too bad for you, though. Keep me updated?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, eyes locked on something behind Newtpaw. His eyes took on some complex emotion - looking back, she saw Robincloud approaching, and she wondered what would tense him up so.
"No promises," he continued, in a quieter voice. "Sorry. You should go now."
"Maplepaw, how's the herb practice going along?" Robincloud trotted up with a peaceful expression. She smiled kindly to the tortie apprentice as she came to a stop outside of the den. "Oh, hello, Newtpaw. Come to see what we medicine cats are all about?"
"Just checking up on my brother. Never know if he'll get a nick in the ear or grass in his toes without checking up," she remarked, chuckling. "But I should probably go and leave you two to your stuff."
"Alright. Take care, Newtpaw." Robincloud bowed her head. Maplepaw didn't look at Newtpaw as she turned to leave.
As she padded away, the young apprentice wondered over the night's events. First the tuft of fur, and now the timid nature of her brother had escalated. She couldn't even begin to guess what he was acting so weird about, but she supposed he'd calm down after he'd settled into his position.
A moon had passed. Newtpaw's training hadn't focused much on battling as of yet. Most of her training was in regards to tracking, and how to hide oneself in the forest. Ivytail's assistance was searched for once more in order to give the tortie apprentice a better idea on how to grasp the tree's branches and gain leverage to climb higher than before. It had always been a dream of hers to learn how to climb as high as Ivytail had. She hoped someday she would.
A moon of growth isn't much for a seasoned warrior, but for a young apprentice it represents a great deal of change. Newtpaw's fur became thicker and warmer, and her tail grew soft and longer-furred, as did the rest of her body. She felt more sure of her steps, and she felt as though she had boundless energy to spend. Her brother had grown a stockier body than she, reminiscent of their father, though his fur was as long as Newtpaw's at that point.
It worried her how little insight she had into her brother's life now, as he had closed himself off to all but Robincloud, but she shrugged it off and assumed it was part of the medicine cat's way and that he would talk to her soon enough.
A dreary evening came about the camp, with clouds rolling in from the south and causing the temperature to become crisp and cool. It was the night of the Gathering, but Asphodelstar had doubts about going to the Gathering this night.
"We won't be able to guess whether our ancestors are pleased with our meeting, or whether something might happen and we won't have guidance on our decisions," he had said to Russet-tail one night.
Robincloud managed to convince him that, if the decision were a heavily important one, StarClan would clear the clouds at a chance time and reveal their decision. This comforted the old leader somewhat, but Newtpaw could tell from his tense shoulders and perked ears that he wasn't wholly convinced.
"All cats old enough to catch prey, gather here beneath the Highstone for a Clan meeting." His weary voice rang out and many cats trickled in, a stream of felines from all around. Newtpaw made sure to seat herself close to Starlingpaw; Batpaw had become a bit more rude as of late, despite interference from older cats, going so far as to push her brother around regardless of the task. Newtpaw felt a little sorry for the tom, and often went out of her way to speak to him after such events.
Flicking his tail widely for silence, Asphodelstar started. "I'll be bringing the regular pawful-or-so of warriors with me tonight, under the light of the full moon, to the Gathering. Russet-tail will stay here to govern in my place. Robincloud and her apprentice shall accompany me, as well as Roachnose, Newtpaw, Moth-heart, and Foxwhisker. Meet me by the entrance and we will start on our journey."
Newtpaw's heart leapt in her chest. A Gathering! She was surprised he allowed her to go, but she supposed it would be less threatening to bring another apprentice than to take a skilled fighter or older warrior. She touched her nose to Batpaw's shoulder in a comforting fashion before skittering over to the entrance.
Asphodelstar's gaze settled on her briefly as he took note of who was here. Though the notice gave her a sense of admiration, she wondered why he seemed so drained of excitement. She followed the lead of the others as they started their way through the shaded woods, towards the rocky outcrop that marked the meeting-place for the two Clans.
She trotted eagerly beside her brother briefly in hopes of discussing things.
"Hiya, Maplepaw!" she meowed in a friendly manner. "Isn't this exciting? We both get to go to a Gathering! I wonder how many cats will be there."
"I don't really want to think about it," he admitted, dropping behind his mentor to speak in a quieter tone. "I'm going to meet the other medicine cat and their apprentice. I don't know them yet, but it makes me nervous."
"You worry too much," she replied, casual. "Medicine cats are always good, aren't they? I haven't met a bad one, anyhow. I'm more worried about who I'll have to talk to - so many new cats, and I don't know a single one of them."
Maplepaw grew silent at this and caught up with Robincloud.
Newtpaw was once told that the Gathering was an important event, and that moonlight always shone down on the cats that gathered. Clouds gathered in the sky and let out the occasional rumble-purr, casting down neutral light on the grassy, scattered-rock outcropping. Despite the dreary weather, she felt her paws tingle with energy as she skipped forward, ready to sniff out some-cat to speak to. The rest of the patrol dispersed around the rocky outcropping to speak to others, whilst Asphodelstar approached a lean, white-furred cat that seemed to be around the same age as him. Maplepaw and Robincloud passed by Newtpaw, walking towards another white cat (who seemed much younger) and an apprentice-aged light-ginger cat; she could only assume these were the other medicine cats as they huddled together. She wondered what they were speaking about as another cat approached you.
"Ah, a fresh smell. Hello to you."
Turning to look, Newtpaw was greeted with another white-furred cat. Although unfamiliar to her, she jumped up, grinning and looking up at the older cat with cheeriness. "Hello! Who are you?"
The older cat snickered. "I'm Lightcloud," she responded. "A warrior of GlenClan. Would I be right if I assumed you were a young BirchClan apprentice?"
"Yeah! That's me! I'm Newtpaw, nice to meet you." Newtpaw stretched her head forward to touch noses with the white-furred cat. "There's a lotta cats with white fur in your Clan," she remarked.
A sneeze of laughter from Lightcloud could be heard. "Ah, so I've been told by other cats," responded the warrior. "Well, you can't help how you come out, and I'd have to say that I haven't seen many mottled cats like you in my Clan. You seem familiar, though, for some reason." The cat hmm'd a bit before continuing. "Do you know of.. uh... StarClan curse it, what was that cat's name? Bramble.. Brambling..?"
"Bramblingcloud!" Newtpaw snapped to attention. "That's my mother!"
"Ah, I see." Lightcloud purred. "You're so similar in fur, but so different in personality. So excitable, so curious... Ah, what I'd give to be an apprentice again." She let out a wistful sigh.
Newtpaw opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a loud meow.
"The Gathering is starting, please gather!"
"Oh, that's our cue, dear." Lightfoot gave Newtpaw a courteous nod as she walked past. "Better go find a seat. Hope there's some good news..."
Newtpaw padded to the crowd again, hoping to sit next to her brother; she felt a pang of disappointment, as she saw him tightly surrounded by his mentor and the other medicine cats. Sitting near the edge of the crowd, she looked forward.
The white cat that Asphodelstar had spoken to at arrival stepped upon one of the larger stones, looking down at the gathered cats with a neutral, if tired, expression, akin to the one Asphodelstar held. "Good evening, cats of the Clans. I hope the stars have guided you peacefully this past moon."
Assorted agreements were passed around in hushed tones, quieting to let the cat speak again.
"We speak our news, as is custom, in the eyes of StarClan, whether the clouds hide their sight or not." The cat looked up, searching. "I hope they hear our news and approve of the current events."
Asphodelstar, off to the side, looked up as well - Newtpaw detected some emotion in the cat's face that she could not describe.
"Asphodelstar has kindly allowed me to speak first on the affairs of GlenClan." She dipped her head towards the other warrior. "We recently had one of our own join the nursery. We welcome Goldenfoot, the nervous one, among our treasured mothers."
A few cats whispered congratulations, and others simply smiled or bowed their heads.
"However, one of our elders, Sloefoot, was found in the eastern stream, dragged by the currents of change. We give thanks to StarClan for his life, and we give thanks to Sloefoot for his duties served in the Clan. He was a noble warrior."
Some cats called out, and one voice rose above the fray. "Who did this?"
The leader closed her eyes, unwilling to target the speaker. "We do not know. There was no scent, no sign of struggle, and our medicine cats did the best they could to organize his burial. We think that he went peacefully to the river, as we all dedicate ourselves to the waters of life, and returned himself to the stars. Regardless, we hope his journey to StarClan is peaceful. Now, if I may continue..."
Newtpaw felt a little uncomfortable with this news; some cat found in the river, drowned? An elder, no less. Questions formulated in her mind, many of which she noted to ask Roachnose later. The leader continued.
"We welcome Cloverpaw among our apprentices. We hope his mentor, Lightcloud, will teach him patience and understanding." More scattered cheering. "Other than that, no news from our Clan. I step back so that Asphodelstar may speak. Thank you, StarClan."
Asphodelstar stepped up, giving a grateful nod to the other leader. "Swanstar has guided her Clan wonderfully, I see - and I hope that Sloefoot is given a proper sendoff. We have lost no lives, thank StarClan, and we have two new apprentices, both of which are here tonight. The twins Maplepaw and Newtpaw have joined our ranks, and Maplepaw has been made Robincloud's apprentice. I can only hope her knowledge of herbs will be passed to him."
Newtpaw glanced over at Maplepaw, who seemed to be attempting to make himself as small as possible.
"Newtpaw has been given to Roachnose the tracker; we hope they will give her the insight and curiosity needed to keep our Clan safe and trust-filled." Newtpaw looked over at Roachnose, who gave themself a self-conscious chest-lick. Eyes stared at the tortie apprentice, and she felt a little nervous until the topic changed.
"That said, our warrior Bramblingcloud will be coming back to her warrior duties. We welcome her back to the active ranks, and thank her for her service as a mother."
Asphodelstar moved aside so Swanstar could also step up and speak. "The last moon has been peaceful, warriors!' she called out, confident. "No rogues, no predators, and no disease. We thank our ancestors for our good fortune, and out medicine cats for guiding us with such accuracy. We have what rogues and loners lack: faith. Rejoice, cats, for we are warriors!"
Cats called out in celebration, Newtpaw included. The sound of yowling could be heard some distance off, and the sound slowly quieted down as the Clan groups split and headed back to their homes once more.