Bluestar

My last life. Bluestar sat alone at the top of the ravine, staring down at the ThunderClan cats below. She had lost her life to greencough a few sunrises ago, but it was still sinking in. I'm no better than any other cat now. The thought surprised her. Did nine lives really make her any different then any other cat?

Tonight was the Gathering. A real Gathering. Bluestar continued to stare down at the cats milling about far below. Atleast it would be interesting, with ShadowClan having to accept their new limitations. Nightstar wouldn't be happy with that. She let out a heavy sigh. Hopefully it wouldn't end in a brawl. The last thing the Clans needed was to find out the StarClan really did not have the power to enforce peace. They're just dead cats.

Then there was the mysterious business with the ShadowClan cats stealing catnip. That was a serious crime, especially since ThunderClan had been trusting them. Such a thing could not go unspoken in a Gathering. The other Clans needed to hear the apology. That would both cause humiliation and prevent further instances, all in one blow.

Then her thoughts turned to less business like matters. Graystripe and the RiverClan she cat had reminded her of what she once was. She had been happy. She heaved a heavy sigh. Maybe I never needed to join the codeless cats. She wanted to believe it was the Warrior Code that had separated her from Oakheart, but she knew that wasn't true. We were both loyal. Niether of us could harm our Clans.

The night was bright under the full moon. The pale light painted a deathly shade over the ThunderClan patrol as they nimbly trotted across the fallen tree and towards the Gathering Island. WindClan was waiting for them, basking under the giant oak tree. Bluestar padded forward elegantly, nodding a greeting to Tallstar as she approached him. As was usual for a Gathering, the two leaders made small talk about the weather and prey. Niether cat was unduly worried about either subject. It didn't take long for ShadowClan to show up, closely followed by RiverClan. Bluestar felt a twinge in her chest as Oakheart strolled past, his head held high.

She leapt up onto one of the branches of the oak, not wasting any time. As the other leaders followed suit, she knew that she needed to speak first, before Nightstar could even think up an excuse.

"Welcome to the Gathering," she meowed, "I would like to begin." She glared at the other leaders, as if challenging them to oppose her. They did not, "We have scented ShadowClan on our territory!" murmurs rippled through the crowd of cats, and a few from the crowd of ShadowClan let out nasty purrs.

"Bluestar," Nightstar mewed, "you yourself gave us permission to hunt on your land. Have you already forgotten?"

Bluestar narrowed her icy blue eyes, "No, I have not. But you have betrayed our trust! You have stolen catnip from our territory!" The murmurs were now more anxious, even among the RiverClan and WindClan cats. Stealing catnip was no petty crime. "And so ShadowClan is no longer allowed to hunt in our territory!" A yowl of outrage came from the ShadowClan cats crouched at the base of the oak.

One particularly bold one roared, "We need that prey!"

Bluestar knew that she couldn't budge even a mouse length, "Then you should have thought of that before you raided our catnip!"

Before the argument could continue, Tallstar stepped forward, "Calm down, my fellow warriors. All is well in WindClan, we are still thankful to ThunderClan for helping us to return."

Crookedstar nodded in agreement, "We are also glad WindClan is back. It has renewed balance to the forest. All is well in RiverClan… Except for a fact that a ThunderClan spy is roving through our territory!" Another yowl of outrage rang out, this time from the ThunderClan cats.

Bluestar rounded on the old leader, "Crookedstar, are you accusing me of setting spies out on RiverClan?"

"Yes I am. We have scented him for more than a moon!" Suddenly Bluestar understood. Graystripe!

"A RiverClan spy has been in our territory too!" She retorted.

Crookedstar's eyes lit up, "Lier!"

At that moment Tallstar interrupted, "Have either of you actually seen a trespasser?" both leaders shook their heads. Tallstar shrugged, "Then how about we stop this argument. After all, you are both the strongest Clans in the forest right now. What would a spy do, watch apprentices gather moss?" Bluestar nodded her consent. Tallstar had a point, fighting now would do more harm than good… for all the Clans.

"Very well," Crookedstar agreed grudgingly, "I will wait until our Clan has more proof. Then we will strike!"