It had been almost a moon since Lightstar had been given her nine lives and made Whitewing her deputy. The moonlight was beginning to shine on the cats gathered in the ThunderClan camp, but in the distance the last rays of the sun could be seen over the tops of the trees. It was the night of the gathering, and the ThunderClan cats were eating the remnants of the fresh kill pile before they left for the island. Most of the cats were already done, sitting in the deepening shadows and grooming their fur for the last time that day. Lightstar stood up, and the cats chosen for the gathering did the same.
The clan leader gazed around the camp, reluctant to leave. She had a feeling that there was something wrong. Lightstar tried to shake off the feeling, but it sunk in her stomach like a stone, rooting itself there like it was waiting to say, "I told you so." She twitched her tail, and the patrol followed her out of camp. They left the other's behind silently, slipping through the undergrowth and ferns, hearing occasional rustles of frightened prey or one another's fur clinging to a bramble frond.
They exited the woods, a few apprentices murmuring excitedly at the back of the Clan, eager to see their friends from the other clans. The patrol stayed within a fox length of the lake, but strayed farther when WindClan appeared, mingling with the other Clan and talking. The ThunderClan and WindClan cats glanced at the Horseplace farther towards the horizon, but quickly turned back towards the lake.
One by one they filed past each other, clinging to the log that connected the small island on the lake where the Gatherings were held to the mainland. The bare wood was slightly slippery from the recent rains.
ShadowClan and RiverClan were already in the clearing. It's so much different from the day Bramblestar died. Lightstar thought, gazing down at the cats who knew her all too well now. The tree where the leaders always sat was obscured by the bracken overhead, so she couldn't see who was already up there. She looked over at Onestar, who nodded at her, and she flicked her tail. The cats surged down into the clearing, touching noses and talking to the cats that were already there. ShadowClan and RiverClan did seem quite subdued, though.
A few cats began to gasp, but only from WindClan and ThunderClan. Lightstar and Onestar followed their gazes up to the large tree in the center of the clearing. Lightstar herself gasped when she saw the cats up there. Mistystar was there, but she sat farther away from the other cat in the tree. He seemed too lithe for Blackstar's heavy bulk, but was still quite a large cat. He noticed other cats staring at him, and stepped out into the moonlight. In place of Blackstar was a tortoishell and white tom with a large bushy tail and tufted ears.
A few cats began to mutter about a cat named Sol, glancing at him with distrustful looks, a few even protesting loudly.
"Hello, fellow leaders and warriors," he said, staring into the crowd of cats with his pale yellow eyes, "I," he paused dramatically, "Am Lion, son of Sol!"