Chapter 7
Rainkit looked around the nursery. Most of the other kits were playing amongst themselves, they never let him join. Whenever he ventured near them they scattered, and he had no idea why. Sitting on his own was boring and he was lonely. His mother was just outside the nursery, maybe he could impress her by venturing outside before his brother and sister.
He trotted up to the entrance and peered outside, ShadowClan was buzzing with activity and it made him feel a little dizzy, he turned his head and saw his mother, Rivershine, talking to his father, Spottedfoot. He edged closer to hear what they were saying.
"I just can't live with him, Spottedfoot!" His mother mewed, her head down, Rainkit wondered what she was talking about, "He has no scent, and he's strange. Greymask says he's a sign from the dark forest, I can't have a kit like that, I don't know what to do." She cried, Spottedfoot places his tail on her back.
"I know. I feel the same way, but what can we do?" He asked.
"Drown the thing. It's the only way we can save ourselves." Rivershine meowed hissed. Rainkit flinched. She wants to get rid of me? He thought, he felt like icy water had just been poured all over him.
"We can't drown him-" Spottedfoot began, but Rainkit interrupted him.
"No. You can't drown me. If you do I will call upon the dark forest, and they will kill you!" He squeaked, making everything up as he went along. Rivershine gasped,
"R-Rainkit?!" She squeaked, flinching at his gaze, she believed him.
Rainfall woke with a jolt. He had fallen asleep in a mangled bramble bush, and as he looked around he knew where he was. Fell's clearing.
Fell was the she-cat who had explained his powers, and introduced him to the others. It was her who had suggested all the cats with abilities would join up as a medicine cat to fool their Clanmates, and as he blinked in the moonlight, he saw her, like a shadow across a field, padding towards him.
"Did you sleep well, Rainpaw?" She asked, her voice like wood splintering together, her dark red eyes resting upon him.
"Yes, and by the way, my name is Rainfall now." The young tom corrected her.
"I see, you have given yourself a new name." Fell mewed. "You did well, killing your Clan with those poisoned leaves."
"Thank you, Fell. Is the meeting tonight, by the way?" He asked, cocking his head.
"Yes. The others should be arriving soon." She answered. "By the way, Rainfall, did Greymask know of your betrayal?"
"Oh, he knew." Rainfall meowed, "He definitely knew."
Hailpaw gasped as Quickclaw led him into the clearing, the moonlight shone on it, giving the place a silver glow, and there were eight big rocks in the middle, making a circle.
"Fell!" Quickclaw called, "I am here, and I have brought Hailpaw!"
A strong scent of disease filled Hailpaw's nostrils as a black cat glided towards them, Hailpaw gasped. She was the cat who had been chasing him in the dream he had had the night he had first become an apprentice. What was even more surprising were her eyes, a dark red that seemed to stab into him.
Before anyone cat say anything, another cat strolled towards them. He looked haughty and reminded Hailpaw of Jaypaw before he had fallen smitten for Dogpaw. This cat was dark grey with a white chest, belly, muzzle and paws and had dark green eyes with shadows underneath them. Hailpaw couldn't smell anything on him.
"Oh, Hailpaw, this is Rainpaw-" Quickclaw began, but the cat cut him off.
"It's Rainfall now." The tom meowed arrogantly.
"Greymask gave you your medicine cat's name?" Asked Quickclaw,politely.
"No. I gave it to myself." Rainfall meowed. Quickclaw looked confused.
"It's nice to see you all getting along. But we need to get a move on, the others are coming and we need to sit in the circle before talking." Fell meowed, Hailpaw jumped when she spoke, her voice was like shattering ice, cold and violent.
Quickclaw nodded at the she-cat and padded towards the eight rocks in the middle. Hailpaw followed, and saw the other cats climbing onto the rocks and sitting down, so he did the same. They sat in a strange semi-circle.
They sat in silence until footsteps made all of them except Fell turn around. A tortoishell she-cat was walking through the clearing towards them, she had a WindClan scent and her green eyes were narrowed.
"Hello Leafpaw!" Mewed Quickclaw in a strained voice when she arrived, the she-cat blinked at him.
"Hello Quickclaw, Fell." She acknowledged the two cats by nodding at them, and then her gaze fell on Rainfall, "Rainpaw." She meowed.
"It's Rainfall." The tom meowed. She didn't seem to care as she stared at Hailpaw.
"Is this the last cat we need to find?" She asked, to nobody in particular.
"Yes. We can finally go ahead with our plans now we've found Hailpaw." Said Fell, as soon as she'd finished, a blue-grey she-cat rushed up, panting.
"Leafpaw! You walk much too fast!" She gasped. She also had the scent of WindClan clinging to her fur.
"Bluewish, it's nice that you came." Fell meowed. Bluewish nodded as she took a seat on a rock, only stopping to eye Hailpaw curiously. Leafpaw took a seat next to her; Hailpaw assumed Bluewish was her mentor.
"Now we're only waiting for Sandheart." Fell exclaimed, Hailpaw couldn't tell if she was just explaining this, or threatening this Sandheart cat into coming.
Soon enough a pale ginger tom padded into the clearing, Hailpaw recognised him as the medicine cat of ThunderClan.
"Sorry I'm late. Some RiverClan cats came over to the camp complaining about Rainpaw. We kicked them out and agreed they were speaking nonsense, but what did you do?" He meowed.
"You'll find out at the next gathering, oh and it's Rainfall by the way." The tom mewed back; Sandheart shrugged and took a seat.
"Wait, where's Greymask?" Quickclaw asked, noticing one rock was empty.
"Now that Greymask has no need for spying on the Clans for ability cats anymore, and has no ability of his own, I had to deal with him and make sure he would not tell anyone of our activities." Fell meowed, jerking her head towards a dark red patch on the ground. Quickclaw gulped beside Hailpaw.
"Now, shall this meeting commence?" Asked Fell, the cats around her nodded in unison, "We are all here today because it is time for our plans to go ahead. As you all know, Hailpaw has been located and brought to this clearing to learn the truth about what we are trying to do." She mewed.
"Now, I have collected all the cats with abilities from each Clan. Quickclaw can't feel pain, Rainfall has no scent and can't shed fur, Bluewish can see visions of the future, Leafpaw can read any cat's mind, Sandheart can never get tired and Hailpaw can't feel anything." Fell meowed.
"Now Hailpaw, your talent in very important because cats hold back when they have feelings, they cannot kill if they have friendship with a cat, or feel remorse, but you do not feel anything, and you will not hold back." She continued, the other cats glanced of him with a mix of awe, confusion and in Rainfall's case, jealousy.
"With the correct training, we can make you our way into the Clans. We want to purify the Clan cats of malice and treachery, to make a race of loyal and ruthless warriors, and we need you to do it, Hailpaw."