What if I DID own Warriors? This would happen in the 1st series…
Chapter 4 – Gathering
The SkyClan cats bounded through the forest, and Firepaw kept well away from Icepaw, who was chatting with Moonpaw. Dawnpaw bounded beside him.
"This'll be great!" Dawnpaw mewed, his eyes shining. "We'll get to see what Brokenstar looks like!"
"Yeah, and we'll see all the great warriors!" Firepaw meowed.
"Yeah - Bluestar, Tigerclaw, Blackfoot, Stonefur..." Dawnpaw droned, and Firepaw rolled his eyes.
"Looking forward to your first Gathering?" Shadowfur asked, dropping back.
"...Whitestorm, Tallstar, erm, Lionheart..."
"Yes, but Birdstar won't mention -" Firepaw began.
"That you used to be a kittypet?" Shadowfur asked.
"...Leopardfur, Crookedstar, Mistyfoot, Russetfur..."
"Yeah," Firepaw ducked his head, embarrassed.
"I'm sure she won't," Shadowfur mewed kindly.
"Thanks," Firepaw mewed, relieved.
"...Redtail, Clawface, Nightpelt, and Oakheart!" Dawnpaw finished.
"Dawnpaw, you've pretty much mentioned every warrior in the forest!" Shadowfur mewed, amused.
"Well, they are good warriors!" Dawnpaw mewed, while Firepaw let out a mrrow of laughter.
Shadowfur swung out his tail, catching the two apprentices in the chests, and he stopped them from running ahead of the rest of the Clan – into Fourtrees.
"Wow," Firepaw breathed.
They hadn't gone to Fourtrees when Birdstar had shown him the territory before.
It was a huge dip in the ground, with the Great Rock in the very middle. Firepaw gazed up at the Great Oaks in awe.
Birdstar paused, her tail stuck straight in the air. Then she swished it from side to side and led her Clan bounding down the side.
Firepaw bounded beside Dawnpaw.
"I'm going to find Shadowfur," he mewed. His mentor had disappeared into the crowd.
"Hey, where are WindClan and ShadowClan?" Moonpaw mewed beside them.
"ShadowClan? No loss there," Dawnpaw remarked and Firepaw meowed agreement.
"WindClan are probably too weak to even make it," Icepaw had trotted up to them. Great, we get her nose butting in again! Firepaw growled inwardly.
"See you," Firepaw mewed to Dawnpaw, and trotted off, trying to find other apprentices.
He saw the pale ginger apprentice from ThunderClan in a small group and padded over.
"Hi, we've met," he meowed to her, and she looked around.
It might have been Firepaw's imagination, but her pale-green eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Hi, I'm Sandpaw," she mewed.
"Firepaw," Firepaw replied.
"This furball is Greypaw," she meowed, her tail hitting a thick-furred grey tom beside her.
"Hi," Greypaw meowed. He glanced at a pretty RiverClan apprentice sitting opposite as Firepaw settled down beside Sandpaw.
"That's Silverpaw," Sandpaw whispered. "Crookedstar's daughter." Her whiskers twitched. "Greypaw can't stop looking at her."
"Hey!" Greypaw protested, and Firepaw purred in amusement.
"ShadowClan!" Firepaw mewed loudly, as the scent hit his nose. He curled his lip in disgust and fear, remembering how ShadowClan weren't friendly with SkyClan yet.
"Where's WindClan?" he wondered out loud, as he watched Brokenstar – a huge, dark tabby with a bent tail – lead a band of vicious-looking warriors into the hollow.
"Didn't you hear?" Sandpaw whispered. "Bluestar wanted to talk to Tallstar a few days ago. She led a patrol into the territory, but there wasn't any WindClan cats! They didn't go far, but the place reeked of ShadowClan."
"They must have drove WindClan away," Greypaw put in. "For reasons unknown."
Sandpaw dug her claws into the ground. "Let me near Brokenstar," she growled, "I'll rip his pelt off!"
"You can try!" Greypaw purred, flicking her ears with his tail. She hissed at him playfully, and Firepaw found himself wishing she was in SkyClan. She could have been a friend, and he went cold at the thought of meeting her in battle. How could he fight her?
Sandpaw could obviously feel him watching her, because she looked round at him. She smiled, and Firepaw felt something odd inside him.
"Cats of all Clans!" Brokenstar yowled. "I will begin this Gather –"
"We can't start without WindClan!" a RiverClan warrior yowled.
Brokenstar lashed his tail angrily. "I will explain!" he hissed, and he looked so threatening that no cat argued.
Brokenstar stepped forwards to the edge of the Rock.
"As we all know, leaf-bare has been cruel this time," he began.
Crookedstar, the huge RiverClan tabby, looked embarrassed, for some reason. Birdstar, her beautiful pelt tinged silver in the moonlight, looked suspicious, her eyes amber slits. Bluestar, the ThunderClan leader, looked angry, her grey pelt glowing in the dim light.
Birdstar was the youngest leader there, Firepaw realised with a jolt. Crookedstar looked the oldest, then Bluestar, Brokenstar and Birdstar youngest. He had heard that Tallstar was the oldest leader. Firepaw thanked StarClan that their leader was young and full of life.
"Your kits died, so the Clans are smaller numbers." Brokenstar meowed. Warriors murmured agreement. "But ShadowClan kits did not die. We are hardened to the cold North winds, and our kits are stronger than yours since they are born."
Muttering filled the hollow, as the cats wondered what Brokenstar wanted.
"We have more cats than ever, and we need more prey," his eyes flashed orange. "We ask you to allow ShadowClan to hunt in your territories."
Outraged yowls rang in the air. "This has never happened before!" Leafblade spat angrily. "Why now? StarClan must not agree!"
"Must we be punished because our kits thrive?" Brokenstar yowled angrily, silencing the cats.
Crookedstar looked uncomfortable. "I have already offered ShadowClan hunting rights by the river," he meowed.
Yowls of protest came from his cats.
"We were not consulted!" called a grizzled silver tabby.
"I feel that this is best for our Clan," Crookedstar mewed.
Firepaw stole a glance at Silverpaw, but her expression was unreadable.
"Besides, Tallstar already refused," Brokenstar mewed silkily, "and WindClan paid. Do you want this to happen to your Clans?"
He fixed an icy glare on Birdstar and Bluestar.
"Besides, if you say yes now then you could ask ShadowClan for a favour sometime," Brokenstar mewed. "Maybe to help in a battle?"
"You doubt our strength?" a cat hissed angrily. He smelled of ThunderClan. He was a huge dark brown tabby.
"Who's that?" Firepaw whispered.
"Tigerclaw, our deputy," Sandpaw whispered back.
"I will consult with my Clan first," Bluestar meowed.
"Thank StarClan!" Greypaw breathed.
"Birdstar?" Brokenstar turned to the SkyClan leader.
"Say no, Birdstar!" Dawnpaw whispered, and Firepaw swung around to see his friend sitting down behind him.
"I will also consult with my Clan," Birdstar meowed firmly.
"Yes!" Firepaw whispered.
"You already have the Pines, Brokenstar," Birdstar growled, and Bluestar looked shocked and angry at that news. "You will not take any more of our territory yet."
She made it clear, but there was a hidden challenge beneath her words that Brokenstar could not reply to.
Brokenstar just growled in reply. "I will give you until the next Gathering to decide," he meowed.
"We need less time than that!" Leafblade yowled, and SkyClan called agreement.
Firepaw let a low growl out of his throat.
"Remember this, ThunderClan and SkyClan!" Brokenstar called as he jumped off the Rock and padded over to his warriors, "Remember, it will not be well to disagree!" His eyes narrowed. "You know what happened to WindClan."
With those ominous words shivering in the air, he turned and stalked out, his Clan following. RiverClan soon left, but Birdstar and Bluestar didn't move.
Firepaw, leading Greypaw, Sandpaw and Dawnpaw, padded over to hear what the two leaders were saying.
"…never." Birdstar was meowing angrily.
Bluestar nodded, looking slightly down at the younger leader. "Birdstar, if we have to unite against ShadowClan, then we will."
Birdstar nodded, dipping her head. "Bluestar, you will find allies in SkyClan – allies that are ready for battle."