Here it is, the next chapter, FINALLY! Thank you everyone for all the lovely reviews, I'm so glad you're all enjoyed it! I finally found the time to write some more, I'm so sorry for the long wait. In this chapter, we find Moonpaw and Mintpaw together at the gathering, and also we get a peek into Moonpaw's past as she first meets Mintpaw. Enjoy!
With the flick of their leader's tail, the ThunderClan cats poured into the clearing around Fourtrees and padded up to old friends from rival clans. Moonpaw craned her neck above the crowd of cats to look for Mintpaw, but she couldn't see him anywhere. Disappointed, she settled down next to Whitepaw and looked up expectantly at the leaders on the Great Rock. Suddenly, she felt someone sitting down next to her. She jumped up, her fur bristling, then instantly flattened it.
"Mintpaw!" She cried, then awkwardly looked at her paws, earning many confused glances from around.
"Shh, keep it down!" He whispered.
"Sorry!" Moonpaw whispered back, embarrassed at Whitepaw's questioning stare.
Ignoring her gaze, she looked back at Mintpaw.
"So…how are things?" He asked casually.
"Eh, OK...how about you?" She asked eagerly.
"Pretty good…" He trailed off mysteriously. "Oh look, the gathering is starting!" He remarked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
Moonpaw gave him one last disbelieving look, then lay down beside her friend and tucked her paws under her chest. She glanced up at her leaders, but she wasn't interested in what they had to say today. Instead, she leaned up against Mintpaw, but when he gave her a warning glance, she instantly sat up again.
"Sorry…I forgot…" She muttered.
The gathering seemed to stretch on endlessly, but Moonpaw wasn't listening. The four leader's words seemed like gibberish to her. She drifted away into thought, until finally the leaders leapt down from the Great Rock and started to call for the warriors.
Mintpaw stood up and glanced down at Moonpaw.
"When should we meet again?" He whispered, barely audible over the babble of cats saying their goodbyes.
"Tomorrow night, same place, same time?" She suggested, glancing around to make sure nobody was in earshot.
"Sounds good to me!" He replied, satisfied. He gave her ear a quick lick and padded off to join the RiverClan cats. Moonpaw watched him go. She felt an ache in her heart as she remembered that what she was doing was breaking the warrior code. A voice behind her made her jump.
"Moonpaw, are you awake? Firestar's calling us!" Whitepaw called.
"Er, yeah, coming!" Moonpaw jumped up and padded hurriedly over to join her clan.
"Who's that Mintpaw cat? You seem pretty interested in him." Whitepaw remarked.
"Oh, he's just a friend."
"You sure? I saw him licking your ear." Whitepaw pointed out.
Moonpaw felt herself grow hot with embarrassment.
"Like I said, just friends."
"Okay…" Whitepaw gave up, a glint of disbelief in her eyes.
"Are you two coming? It'll be sun-high before we get back at this rate!" Moonpaw heard Dustpelt's snide remark.
"We're coming!" Whitepaw shot back, shaking her head. "Come on, let's go!"
The two cats raced up the hill and joined the group of ThunderClan cats on the journey back to camp.
Moonpaw opened her mouth the scent the land around her. She had wanted some fresh air and had decided to go hunt near Sunningrocks. In the warm sun of Greenleaf prey would most likely be out warming themselves on the rocks. Finally spotting the gray boulders, she slowly walked around until she caught sight of a plump looking starling. Moonpaw dropped into the hunting crouch and stealthily crept forward until she was barely a fox-length away.
As she was about to spring, she stepped onto a twig with a loud snap. Hearing the noise, the bird flew away onto a branch hanging over the river with an alarming call.
"Mouse-dung!" she cursed aloud, frustrated with her mistake.
Not wanting to be deceived by a bird of all creatures, she began to creep towards the tree that the starling was perching on. She unsheathed her claws and began to climb up the tree, digging her claws into the bark. Once she reached the branch, she silently padded forward, careful to stay hidden behind the thick oak leaves. With the bird still in sight, she prepared the leap again, when suddenly the wind picked up. The branch swayed violently and, alarmed, the starling flew off into the sky.
"Not again-" Moonpaw moaned, but was cut off by another fierce gust of wind.
This time Moonpaw lost her footing and began to slip.
"NO!" She yowled, but it was too late. She was barely grabbing onto the branch, her lower body swinging dangerously over the rushing river. She tried to pull herself up onto the branch, but only managed to slip farther down the limb. Moonpaw dug her claws into the tree with all her might, but the wretched wind picked up again! The branch gave one last swing, and in horror Moonpaw slid off the branch and crashed into the icy water.
"HELP-" Her plea was cut off as she slipped beneath the surface, the current pushing her down the river. She tried to breathe but only managed to swallow a mouthful of cold water.
I'm going to drown! Moonpaw thought in horror as she sunk towards the bottom of the river. She desperately tried to push herself towards the surface, but unlike RiverClan cats, she could not swim. Her vision became hazy and she nearly fell to unconsciousness, when suddenly she felt strong jaws grasp the scruff of her neck.
Whoever had grabbed her pulled her onto the bank of the river and fell down, panting.
Moonpaw gasped and choked as she spit out mouthfuls of river water. As she weakly looked up, she saw a sleek, silvery pelt and ice blue eyes looking down at her worriedly.
"Are you okay?!" The RiverClan tom questioned, sounding quite concerned about a cat from a rival clan.
"I-I'm fine!" Moonpaw rasped breathlessly. "Th-thank you!"
"No problem! I couldn't just watch a cat drown, even from ThunderClan!" The strange tom breathed a sigh of relief. "What were you doing anyways, out on the branch?"
"Hunting!" Moonpaw laughed. She abruptly stopped herself, though. "I-I'm sorry, I should get back to ThunderClan territory-"
"You're fine, relax. Do you need a medicine cat, or do you think you can make it back on your own? I can show you to the stepping stones." The tom suggested.
"That would be great, thanks!" She said, grateful that the tom was so concerned about her.
She stood up on shaky legs and followed him back towards the stones sticking out over the water.
"Are you sure you're fine?" He asked once more as they reached the rocks.
"Yes, I'm positive." Moonpaw found herself laughing again. "I'll be going now, I guess." She sighed, readying herself to jump to the first stone.
"I'm Mintpaw, by the way!" He called to her as she reached the second stone.
She turned back towards him and felt a smile form on her lips. "I'm Moonpaw."
Mintpaw nodded, and before she could say anything else, he raced through the reeds and was gone.
Moonpaw smiled once more and turned around to go back to camp.
Moonpaw suddenly jolted awake from her memory, and looked up at Silverpelt.
It was brighter than ever.