Chapter Nine

Jaypaw flicked his tail in pleasure. He was actually going to get to go to the Gathering tonight. He sighed in contentment as he fell into step beside his sister. He and Hollypaw were last in line. Ahead of them paced Berrypaw, Mousepaw, Sandstorm, Sorreltail, Brambleclaw, Honeypaw, Ashfur, Graystripe, Millie, Brackenfur, and Firestar.

Lionpaw was still resting in Leafpool's den. The medicine cat was still watching over him, as he hadn't woken at all since collapsing. Silverfish was asleep in her den with them, and Cloudtail had been left in charge of camp. Jaypaw didn't envy a single one of them, forced to stay behind instead of running beside their Clanmates.

The cats were just reaching the crossing of the tree-bridge that led to the Gathering island. Jaypaw hissed slightly as Hollypaw paused to help him across. I can cross by myself, he thought, scrabbling across the somewhat slippery surface of the tree-trunk.

Judging by the scents, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan were already here. Firestar led his cats straight to the center of the island, eager that ThunderClan not miss a moment of the Gathering.

Swarming up the tree trunk that all of the other leaders were already perched upon, Firestar took a seat on a branch just above Onestar, the WindClan leader. "Nice of you and your Clan to join us at long last, Firestar," growled Blackstar, letting out a yowl to silence all the other cats.

Jaypaw sat down wherever he happened to be standing. Sniffing to see whose company he had fallen into, he groaned silently when the scent of RiverClan washed over his nose and he recognized Willowpaw. Her scent brought back memories of what had happened the last time she had talked to him. She was the last cat he wanted to sit next to!

---

Willowpaw glanced over at Jaypaw, who was sitting next to her. The RiverClan medicine cat apprentice felt nervous. She hadn't seen Jaypaw since that day at the Moonpool, when she had opened her big mouth and made an utter fool of herself. She had dreaded seeing him since then, fearful of a rejection. However, he hardly seemed to notice Willowpaw was there, staring intently up at the leaders as Blackstar gave his report on ShadowClan.

The tip of her tail twiched, and she began to fidget. Restlessly she turned her head and looked at Jaypaw, still he paid her no attention. She couldn't stand it anymore!

Making sure that no one else was watching, she tapped her tail against Jaypaw's side to get his attention. Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear, "We have to talk. Meet me at the tree-bridge." His ear twitched, and she took that as a sign that he had heard. They were sitting pretty near the back of the multitude, so it wasn't hard for her to turn and slip away, unnoticed.

When she reached the tree-bridge she sat down and smoothed her chest fur with a few swift licks, trying to calm herself down. It didn't work. What if he didn't come? What if he did come, but got mad at her? There were so many questions, but Willowpaw had none of the answers.

Sighing, she stood and began to pace around nervously, her tail lashing in agitation. She was so preoccupied by this that she hardly heard the gentle rustling of the undergrowth that heralded Jaypaw's arrival. Stopping, she turned to watch as he emerged and picked his way over to her.

"Okay, I'm here. What do you want?"

Willowpaw sighed again, this time in fustration. This wasn't exactly easy for her either! But instead she just asked, "Jaypaw, I-I have to know. J-Just tell me. How do you feel about me? Do you love me or--?" Willowpaw stopped, letting the question hang. She was afraid that if she went on tears would begin forming in her eyes, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Jaypaw growled in fustration. He felt like tearing up the grass beneath his paws. This again! he thought angrily. Why can't she just move on? However, he knew the real reason he didn't want to answer her. He himself still wasn't entirely sure on what he felt for her.

On the one paw, she was a decent cat and he didn't exactly dislike her. Hollypaw liked her and would doubtless have many good things to say about her regarding character if Jaypaw ever bothered to ask. She was also very popular among all of the Clans and very few cats would be able to find fault with her.

On the other paw, her first impression had not been a good one, and like the stubborn cat he was, he held her to it. She didn't have the wit to stay out of other people's business, and she was kind of boring. Also, as evidenced by this little chat, she was knowingly going against the warrior code in pursuing a relationship with a tom who not only happened to be from another Clan, but like her also happened to be a medicine cat apprentice!

No, wait, scratch that. It's more like ex-medicine cat apprentice, he corrected himself, remembering that he no longer termed himself as Leafpool's apprentice. But still, it's pretty bad.

In short, he had no answer for her. While he didn't really dislike her, he didn't know her well enough to like her. Indecision clawed at his belly like a relentless badger, and her staring at him waiting for an answer didn't help.

Feeling as though he had to say something, he began, "Willowpaw, look--"

A loud rustling sounded in the bushes, causing Jaypaw to stop midsentence. Has someone been listening in on us? he couldn't help but wonder. Nervous, the fur on the nape of his neck began to rise, and he sank his claws into the soft earth for comfort. If someone had been listening in, then, depending on how much of the conversation they had heard, he may need to fight. Swiveling one ear backwards, he crouched lower to the ground.

Both he and Willowpaw were surprised when Minnowpaw popped out. The lithe black RiverClan apprentice didn't appear to notice Jaypaw at first, and instead turned straight to Willowpaw. "Hey, Willowpaw, Mothwing wants to see you. I think it may be urgent--Oh." She stopped, looking between Jaypaw and Willowpaw. Realization seemed to dawn on her, and a sudden grin split her face. Winking meaningfully at Willowpaw, she turned and meowed over her shoulder, "Forget about it! I'll tell Mothwing you're busy. Have fun!" Thin tail waving, Minnowpaw disappeared back into the undergrowth, and the sounds of her departure faded gradually as she made her way back to the Gathering.

As soon as she was sure her friend was out of earshot, Willowpaw turned back to Jaypaw and meowed, "I'm really sorry, Jaypaw. I had no idea she'd be following me. Please, continue."

"No, wait," said Jaypaw, eyes narrowed, "What was that grin for? She knows, doesn't she?"

"Now, wait, that's a pretty big leap to make," flustered Willowpaw, trying at once to both cover her embarrassment and protect her firend. "Besides, how do you know whether she smiled or not? You're blind, remember?"

"I may be blind, but I'm not stupid. And it's not that big a leap to make! She wasn't there long enough to hear us converse, and I definately know she wasn't there at the original confession! There's no other explanation!"

"I didn't tell her anything!"

"No, you're lying! Don't try to hide it! You told her, and you know it!"

"No, I didn't! Besides, I don't think it's any of your business--"

"No, forget it," cut in Jaypaw, eyes narrowed. "You know what, Willowpaw, I believe Mothwing was looking for you." With that, Jaypaw turned and went back to join the Gathering, leaving poor Willowpaw sitting alone by the tree-bridge, wondering what in StarClan's name had just happened.

---

After the Gathering, straggling along at the end of the long line of RiverClan cats returning to camp, was Willowpaw. she looked how she felt: utterly miserable. After Jaypaw had left her, she had sat by herself for a while, literally stunned and still a little angry. Then, her anger fading with exhaustion, she had decided that she couldn't sit there for the entire Gathering, and so had gotten up and rejoined it as well.

She had been about to sit down when she had bumped into Mothwing, who was, indeed, looking for her. As it turned out, Mothwing had just been worried about her, as she hadn't seen her at all since arriving at the Gathering. Willowpaw sighed wearily. Her mentor was beginning to get a little senile, she was so paranoid nowadays.

"Hey, Willowpaw," meowed a voice in Willowpaw's ear.

Startled out of her thoughts, the lithe gray she-cat turned adn saw Pebblepaw trotting along next to her. "Hi, Pebblepaw. I didn't see you at the Gathering. Where were you?"

"Me? Oh, I was hanging out with Dapplepaw and a bunch of ThunderClan apprentices. Mousepaw looked kind of disappointed that Minnowpaw hadn't joined us. Maybe I should tell her... Anyway, what's up with you? You seem so down nowadays."

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how paranoid Mothwing's becoming. You know, she spent most of the Gathering looking for me just because she hadn't seen me since we got there."

"Really?" asked Pebblepaw, laughing. "And we trust her with our lives?"

The two apprentices laughed for a while, and Willowpaw felt increasingly light-hearted. Pebblepaw really was a great friend. She was just about to tell him this when, underneath the hanging branches of a weeping willow, she spied a jay scratching at the ground for worms. However, the bank dropped away sharply near to where the bird was foraging, and it tripped and fell over the edge into the stream below. Momentarily forgetting about Pebblepaw, she rushed over and peered over the edge. What she saw shocked her.

The jay bird had been knocked on the head by one of the numorous pebbles littering the stream-bed, and the blood flowed from the cut on it's head into the current of the stream, contaminating it. As she watched, the bird's eye blinked open a crack, and she saw reflected there the same willow tree it had been hunting under. The eye glazed over and closed, and then the bird's lifeless body was washed away downstream, as if it had never been.

With a shudder, Willowpaw turned away and rejoined Pebblepaw on the walk back to camp. She didn't see the hawk's feather trapped beneath the pebble, hiding just beneath the surface.

---

Mothwing looked over the peacefully sleeping form of her apprentice, Willowpaw. However, the golden tabby she-cat was feeling anything but peaceful. She tired; she could feel the exhaustion tugging at her limbs, bringing to her a longing for her nest. Blinking her eyes, she struggled to stay awake. It wasn't as if she couldn't sleep, but more like she was scared to.

Mothwing had never believed in her warrior ancestors, or that they could visit her in dreams, but now, well, she wasn't quite so sure. Her dreams were haunting her, and she couldn't recall a single herb or plant that Mudfur had taught her about that could take away dreams.

The medicine cat felt herself drifting off, and immediately shook herself awake again. She couldn't allow herself to fall asleep. Not again, not now, not when He was waiting for her.

She walked out of the den into the clearing and looked upon the full moon. If she couldn't sleep, the least she could do was keep watch over the camp.

Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up. I would have uploaded it a lot sooner if FanFiction hadn't glitched while I was in the middle of saving it. So I've had to waste time re-typing up something I'd already typed up to perfection, and I'm pretty short on time anyway. Oh, yeah, and now you guys have completely caught up to where I am in writing this thing right now, so updates are going to be even less frequent as I scurry to write more chapters. I have absolutely no idea where this thing is going right now, so I'm just going to buckle up and enjoy the ride. Who knows? I might actually surprise myself!