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Cloudy Dreamcatcher- Thanks for adding it to your community. I'll check it out. I might end up using that name, as I like it and have no idea what else to do. Yeah, I don't like Shade, but I love writing about him. (The bad guys are always great to write.)
"Rockpool, Earthsong, Dustclaw, Darkmist, Sandblaze, Ashstorm, Clouclaw, Morninglight, Icefire, Stonefall, Wavepaw, Cragpaw, Silverpaw, Skypaw and Riverwhisker," Blazestar called. "You'll come to the Gathering."
Earthsong stepped forward to join the named cats as they pelted out of camp. Over the past moon LightClan had been searching for Nightpaw, and then grieving when she couldn't be found. Although he knew it had been necessary, Earthsong felt guilty for what he had done. He snapped back to the present as they thundered down to the Hollow. From the scents of moor grass and pinesap, Earthsong guessed PlantClan and BirdClan had already arrived.
"Earthsong!" Parrotclaw called, trotting up to him. "Heronwing's had a dream and we want to discuss it."
"I'm coming," Earthsong replied, leaving his Clan to follow the BirdClan healer. He weaved through the throng of cats and met the other healers at the base of a tall oak. He sat on a protruding root.
"Earthsong," Hazeltail greeted. "Have you found Nightpaw?"
Earthsong lowered his head to hide his less-than-sorrowful expression. "We haven't."
"It's strange that she disappeared so suddenly," Hazeltail murmured.
"Where's Fogfeather?" Heronwing asked sharply. "And Violetecho?"
"Violetecho didn't want to come," Hazeltail said.
"Fogfeather's staying in case Stormclaw kits."
"She's close to kitting, then?" Parrotclaw asked.
"Very."
Earthsong caught a whiff of a wet, slightly fishy scent, and turned to see AnimalClan race down the slope. To his surprise, all were wounded, some quite badly. Leopardstar had a long scratch along her flank, and Hareleap's ear was shredded, with claw marks running down along the side of his face. Sheeptail left the Clan and headed towards the gathered healers. Even the white healer was not unscathed. She was limping heavily and a scratch ran across the bridge of her nose.
"What happened?" Earthsong asked.
"Not my news to share," she replied.
"I had a dream," Heronwing mewed.
"From StarClan?" Sheeptail asked.
"Yes, of course it's from StarClan," Heronwing snapped. "FadedSpirit came to me."
The healers gasped. FadedSpirit was the legendary warrior who'd brought the Clans together. Something would have to be pretty big for her to deliver a prophecy.
Heronwing continued, "FadedSpirit told me this. Darkness is coming, a darkness not even StarClan can face. Nine lives our hopes rest on. What does it mean?"
"Blazestar," Earthsong replied instantly. "She's the only leader with nine lives left, isn't she?"
The healers nodded.
"But what is the darkness?" Hazeltail asked.
"And how can StarClan be powerless before it?" Sheeptail added. "They can do anything."
"Not anything," Parrotclaw hissed. "They didn't protect Nightpaw, did they, Earthsong?"
The ginger tom's gaze bore into Earthsong. He felt as though Parrotclaw was looking straight into his soul. He shifted his paws nervously.
"No."
"Cats of all Clans gather before us!" Eaglestar, leader of BirdClan, yowled.
Earthsong leapt off the oak root with a nod to his fellow healers, and weaved through the cats to sit between Riverwhisker and Vulturefang, a disagreeable BirdClan tom.
"I will begin," Oakstar mewed. "We have two new apprentices, Alderpaw and Nettlepaw!"
"Alderpaw! Nettlepaw!"
Earthsong noticed a young ginger tom straighten and sit higher, raising his head, while the tortoiseshell she-cat next to him flicked her tail.
"Ivyclaw and Acornshade are their mentors," Oakstar continued. "And Sorrelwhisker has given birth to Four healthy kits- three she-kits and a tom-kit. Their names are Ashkit, Pollenkit. Sapkit and Yewkit."
The gathered cats called the kit's names loudly.
"Prey is running well," Oakstar finished.
Blazestar stepped forward. "Stormclaw is close to having kits, and there is plenty of prey in the forest."
Eaglestar snorted. "What do you expect? It's Greenleaf."
Blazestar shot him an icy look.
"Any luck with Nightpaw?" a small, pale brown she-cat called. Earthsong recognised her as Kestrelpaw, a BirdClan apprentice.
"No luck," Blazestar replied.
Voices from the crowd called out loudly. Nightpaw had been well-liked, even amongst the other Clans.
"I am sorry for your loss," Leoparstar mewed. "I lost two warriors, Volestem and Mothfang."
Earthsong felt a pang of loss. He hadn't known Volestem, but had liked Mothfang, a bold, outspoken she-cat who at the same time could be extremely gentle.
"We were attacked by rogues," Leoparstar continued. "They are not the disorganised bunch they were before. They have a leader- a black tom called Shade. They are ruthless and Shade is the worst of them."
Leopardstar shook her head, as if to get rid of any thoughts of the rogues.
"We also have three new warriors. Foxleap, Tigerstrike and Squirrelflame!"
"Foxleap! Tigerstrike! Squirrelflame!"
Less cats had yowled the new warriors names, stunned into silence by news of the rogue attack and the deaths. Earthsong growled quietly. LightClan had mourned Nightpaw when she was a part of the vicious group.
"We also have four new apprentices. Beetlepaw, Rabbitpaw, Houndpaw and Swishpaw. Houndpaw and Swishpaw joined from the rogues," Leopardstar mewed.
"What!?" Earthsong yowled, getting to his feet, his pelt bristling.
Similar protests rang out around him, and several cats were on their feet.
"They killed two of your warriors!" Vulturefang yowled.
A young silver she-cat got to her feet and faced him.
"They killed our mother, yet we chose to join them," she spat. "And me and Houndpaw didn't fight anyway!"
"Leave her alone!" a black and silver apprentice hissed from beside her.
"If that's true," Riverwhisker mewed. "Then, Leopardstar, you did right to accept them. They have the hearts of warriors."
Leopardstar dipped her head in acknowledgement.
"Outsiders have never been accepted into the Clans before!" Fernfang yowled.
"Half-Clan cats have," Acornshade hissed back.
"Its only because of mouse-brains like you that cats like Thornpaw are!" Fernfang snarled.
"Thornpaw's not the only half-Clan cat," Ripplereed growled. "Have you forgotten me and Stormclaw?"
"At least you're part Clan," Cloudclaw hissed. "These cats have no Clan connections. They're rogues! Accepting them is completely against the warrior code!"
"Then the code needs to change!"
It was Thornpaw, his usually calm blue eyes lit by rage.
"What would you change it to?" Cloudclaw hissed, his voice alive with menace. "Accept all loners into the Clans? Accept rogues? Accept those pathetic little kittypets?"
"It doesn't matter where a cat is born," Acornshade mewed. "You're too blinded by your hate to realise that, Cloudclaw."
"Shut up!" the silver cat, who - Earthsong decided - must be Swishpaw, yowled.
The arguing cats were silenced, looking in surprise at the former rogue.
"Finally," Riverwhisker grunted.
"If you have a problem with anything," Leopardstar said icily. "Tell me, but don't argue at the Gathering like a pair of squabbling kits."
She waited silently, her tail lashing.
"You let in the cats that killed Volestem and Mothfang," Vulturefang said finally.
"Houndpaw and Swishpaw didn't fight," Leopardstar replied.
"They're outsiders and rogues," Fernfang hissed. "It's against the code."
"As Thornpaw said, the code needs to change," she mewed. "It tells us to mistrust loners, kittypets and rogues when sometimes they are more trustworthy than Clan cats."
"Who are you calling untrustworthy?!" Pumashade spat.
All around the hollow fur was bristling and there were hisses and snarls from many cats.
"How dare she say rogues are better than us!" Earthsong hissed quietly.
"Easy, youngster," Riverwhisker mewed calmly.
"Enough!" Blazestar yowled. "Have you forgotten the cats like Stonedazzle and DoomStar?"
A shiver went down Earthsong's spine as he heard the names of the two Dark Forest cats. Stonedazzle had been deputy of LightClan when Earthsong was only a kit and Fogfeather an apprentice. She had killed many warriors, one of them the former LightClan healer, Sleekpelt. Stonedazzle had attacked Whitestar, the Clan leader, but he killed her, losing his ninth life in the process.
DoomStar was far older, but his name was well remembered because of the terrible things he had done. DoomStar had killed the leaders, deputies and healers of the other Clans, before taking over the Clans, killing anyone who disobeyed him. He had finally been killed by a legendary BirdClan warrior called EagleHeart. She had taken all his nine lives with a single blow and it was said that her blood still ran in the Clans.
"What about Shade and the other rogues?" Tigerstrike called out, snapping Earthsong out of his thoughts. "They're as untrustworthy as a pack of foxes."
"I said some outsiders, not all," Leopardstar growled. "Do you actually think I like Shade after what he did?"
Tigerstrike lowered her head. "Sorry Leopardstar."
"The Gathering is over," Oakstar mewed, cutting off anything the AnimalClan warrior was going to say.
"We can talk amongst each other now," Blazestar said.
The four leaders leaped down from the Great Rock. Earthsong, curious about the former rogues, followed Swishpaw to the edge of the hollow, taking care not to get too close.
When he reached her, she was sitting with a young ginger tom and the black and silver tom who had defended her before. Both toms smelled of AnimalClan, but the ginger cat had an underlying rogue scent, the same as Swishpaw. Earthsong eyed him, sure that he was Houndpaw, the other cat Leopardstar had adopted from the rogues. Skypaw sat with them, and the ginger PlantClan apprentice who had raised his head when Alderpaw and Nettlepaw's names were called. As Earthsong didn't know him, he assumed the tom was Alderpaw.
"What are the rogues like?" Alderpaw asked.
"Evil," the black and silver tom replied.
Swishpaw batted him. "Shut up, Beetlepaw. Alderpaw's asking us," she mewed. "But evil works."
Earthsong watched Beetlepaw, surprised that he didn't mind having a rogue in his Clan. He seemed almost happy to be with them.
"Don't you have a better description than evil?" Skypaw complained.
Swishpaw hesitated, but Houndpaw spoke up.
"Shade killed any cat who disobeyed him and left their bodies for the crows to pick at."
Earthsong shuddered at the words.
"Come on, we'd better go," Skypaw mewed.
He trotted off, closely followed by Alderpaw and Houndpaw. Swishpaw and Beetlepaw lingered a moment, just looking at each other.
"Swishpaw!" Houndpaw called.
Swishpaw hurried off, and Beetlepaw followed slowly, passing so close to Earthsong that he felt his fur tingle with a strange sensation. He felt the earth tilt below his feet, and that everything was nothing more than a mirage. The feeling passed after almost no time, but Earthsong knew exactly what it meant. It had been different with Nightpaw, but the meaning was the same. Beetlepaw was working with the rogues!
Earthsong lunged out of the shadows, trapping Beetlepaw underneath him. The apprentice struggled to free himself.
"Get off! What are you doing? You're a healer!" he spat.
A white pelt flashed through the trees. Earthsong looked up, alarmed, but felt relief flood through him as he saw it was only Whitethistle. A thin brown tom followed her.
"Who's that?" Earthsong asked.
"I'm Weaselclaw," the brown tom replied.
Earthsong dipped his head to the StarClan cat, before sitting up, freeing Beetlepaw for them to take.
"Don't worry," Weaselclaw mewed. "We'll take care of him."
"Take care of me?" Beetlepaw repeated as they flanked him. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"
Horror sparked in his eyes as he stared back at Earthsong.
"Help me!"
So, another cat 'disappearing'. Is Beetlepaw working for the rogues? Or is Earthsong on the wrong side? (The answer's probably really obvious. I'm not the best at surprises.)
Hope you enjoyed reading!
-Skystorm