Warriors: The Power of One: Chapter Four
(Well as you can probably guess, the point of view is going to be split evenly four ways in this story. It can get a little confusing with that many perspectives, but it really worked out how I wanted it to and I'll do my best to make it not confusing. Well here we go, sorry it took so long for me to update. Thanks for reading!)
Runningpaw felt like his fur might explode out of excitement at any minute. His first Gathering! He would meet cats from other clans for the first time, besides the mean ShadowClan cats he had met earlier on his patrol. He hoped that Oakfur, Toadfoot, and the creepy one-eyed white she-cat weren't at the Gathering.
Following Hazelpaw, Honeypaw, and Mousepaw out of the apprentice's den, Runningpaw began the journey with his clanmates to the island where the all-clan Gathering took place. The ThunderClan cats traipsed through their forest, across the creek dividing the ThunderClan and WindClan territory, and along the edge of the lake until they reached a log that balanced from land to land over a chasm of lake water.
Runningpaw leapt onto the log gingerly, careful not to fall and embarrass himself on his first Gathering. He crossed slowly, ignoring Hazelpaw's impatient breath on his tail. Finally, Runningpaw reached the island where the Gathering was held.
He raised his nose in the air and smelled WindClan and ShadowClan mixed with the scent of his own clan, along with the scent of what must have been RiverClan. Quickly, making up for lost time, Runningpaw raced up to Mousepaw's side.
"Mousepaw," he half-whispered, "This is incredible."
Mousepaw purred slightly. "Wait until you meet some of the other clans. Come on, I'll introduce you to some of them."
His gray-and-white friend began to walk away, and Runningpaw followed close by. Mousepaw headed toward a small group of cats Runningpaw didn't know. They looked like apprentices. Hazelpaw was there already, speaking with a tortoiseshell she-cat from ShadowClan. The two she-cats acted bored with the Gathering, but Runningpaw couldn't imagine how. There were cats everywhere!
"That's Ivypaw," Mousepaw explained, "Let's not talk to her. She and Hazelpaw act like they're too important to come to Gatherings. They would be boring." Mousepaw headed toward a group of young cats who must have been from RiverClan. "This is Minnowpaw," Mousepaw said in near-awe. Clearly he really liked this particular cat.
As they saw Runningpaw and Mousepaw approaching, the three RiverClan cats turned their attention to the ThunderClan apprentices. When they recognized Mousepaw, one of them, a slender black she-cat shouted out, "Hey, Mousepaw! Who's your friend?"
Mousepaw purred. "Minnowpaw, this is Runningpaw. Runningpaw, meet Minnowpaw."
Runningpaw dipped his head and mewed a greeting.
Mousepaw continued, "And Minnowpaw's clanmates are Pebblepaw, her brother, and Willowpaw, the RiverClan medicine cat apprentice." Pebblepaw and Willowpaw dipped their heads friendlily. Pebblepaw was a gray tom, and Willowpaw a gray tabby.
After the introduction, Mousepaw and Minnowpaw began to talk, and Pebblepaw and Willowpaw padded off to talk to a brown WindClan apprentice. Runningpaw stood awkwardly for a while, not exactly knowing what to do. Suddenly he noticed two she-cats in his peripherals. He turned quickly.
"What's your name?" asked one of the she-cats, a light brown tabby. "Mine's Heatherpaw."
Runningpaw's breathing eased as he saw the harmless-looking she-cats. "I'm Runningpaw," he meowed. "This is my first Gathering."
Heatherpaw purred and meowed a welcome. The other she-cat, a tortoiseshell with a white splash on her chest, meowed, "Hi, Runningpaw. I'm Sunpaw."
"No you're not," Runningpaw blurted before he could stop himself.
"Excuse me?" Sunpaw asked challengingly, fur bristling and eyes glaring.
Runningpaw gulped. What was he thinking? Who was he to tell someone what their name was or wasn't? "I'm sorry," he explained, "I meant to say that my sister's name is Sunpaw, not that yours isn't. I'm a furball."
Heatherpaw purred again. "You're funny," she said.
Sunpaw let her bristled fur ease down mostly. "Great," she said, clearly thinking it was anything but, "Good thing we're not in the same clan. That could get confusing."
Heatherpaw agreed, "Yeah, Onestar would say 'Sunpaw,' and both of you would turn to look." Her eyes shown with humor. "What if he gave you both the same warrior name, just because he thought it was funny?" she exclaimed, purring at the thought.
"Hysterical," Sunpaw mewed sarcastically. "Speaking of Onestar, I think the Gathering is about to start."
Sure enough, Runningpaw watched as Firestar and the other clan leaders climbed to their places in the big tree in the middle of the island clearing. He followed Heatherpaw and Sunpaw as they got closer to the tree.
Runningpaw examined the four clan leaders. He'd heard stories about all of them. The ragged spotted she-cat had to be Leopardstar, the RiverClan leader who had betrayed the clans to follow Tigerstar, an evil cat who had tried to take over the clans. When Tigerstar was killed by Scourge, a rogue leader, Leopardstar had rallied the rest of her clan to fight against him, and reestablished her honor in the clans' eyes.
The huge white tom with black feet must be Blackstar. Blackstar too had followed Tigerstar, as his deputy, and then led ShadowClan in the battle against Scourge. The ThunderClan elders had spoken of Blackstar with more contempt than they had of Leopardstar. Clearly they hadn't trusted him. Runningpaw knew that ShadowClan and his own clan had had a shaky past.
The last cat besides Firestar was Onestar of WindClan. When Onestar had been a warrior, Onestar and Firestar had been friends. When Onestar became the WindClan leader under less than ideal circumstances, Onestar had felt that in order to prove himself to his clan, he had to end his friendship with Firestar, and in turn ThunderClan. While the relationship between the clans was better, it was by no means friendly any longer.
Firestar began the Gathering. "We meet beneath Silverpelt commanded by the truce of the full moon." As Firestar spoke, the dull chatter of the cats subsided. "ThunderClan has enjoyed another peaceful moon," he spoke, "We have four new apprentices, one of which is here tonight. Runningpaw."
Runningpaw stared bravely at Firestar, not wanting to show weakness to the cats of the other clans. His moment of stardom came and went quickly as Firestar continued.
"Our forest is running with prey, and our clan is well-fed," Firestar finished his report.
Next, Blackstar and Leopardstar gave similar reports, Blackstar making sure to point out just how well his clan was doing.
Finally, Onestar spoke. "WindClan is thriving in the rabbit-filled hills. However, we must report something unfortunate."
Runningpaw's ears perked up. This was the first bad news that he'd heard.
Onestar continued, "Our apprentice, Eaglepaw went missing while hunting alone near the ThunderClan border at the edge of both the clan territories. He has been gone for a few days now, and badger was scented where Eaglepaw was last tracked."
Runningpaw turned to Heatherpaw and Sunpaw, horrified. "Did you know him?" he asked.
"Of course we did," Sunpaw said, forcefully but sadly. "And there's no way he deserted us."
Onestar finished his report, "I would advise ThunderClan to be watching for that badger, though it doesn't seem to have returned since we scented it. That is all we have to report."
The clan leaders began climbing down from the huge tree, and Runningpaw started his good-byes to the WindClan she-cats, "I'm sorry about your friend," he said.
Sunpaw just stared at the grass, but Heatherpaw blinked in acknowledgement. "We think he might have run away-" she was cut off by Sunpaw. "I don't," Sunpaw said, "Something must have made him leave."
Heatherpaw moved on, "But we're planning on going to find him! And you should come with us. Tomorrow night."
Sunpaw looked at Heatherpaw like she had lost her mind. "Why would you tell him that?"
Heatherpaw defended herself, "Maybe that badger is still lurking around. We could use his help."
Sunpaw rolled her eyes. Runningpaw thought about her proposal. He really liked Heatherpaw. She was a pretty she-cat, and fun to be around. "Okay," he said, "Where should I meet you?"
Sunpaw sighed in exasperation as Heatherpaw explained where they would meet. "Meet us on the WindClan side of the creek, where there are still some trees. We'll track Eaglepaw from there."
Runningpaw said he would, and said good-bye as Mousepaw padded up to walk with him out of the Gathering. "You certainly made fast friends with that WindClan she-cat," he teased. They walked back to camp, talking about the Gathering and teasing each other about Heatherpaw and Minnowpaw.