Frostpaw felt distracted during her duties all day. When she was changing the elder's bedding, she barely noticed how Flymask muttered unhappily about a rogue in the Clan while she fetched him fresh moss for his nest, and scraped out the old, musty smelling stuff.
Once she finished, she padded out of the elder's den to give her pelt a quick grooming to remove the bits of moss that clung to her fur. She spotted Autumnpaw with Poolpaw and Pinepaw near the fresh-kill pile. Like he could feel her gaze on him, Autumnpaw raised his head and glanced over at Frostpaw, waving his tail at her to gesture for her to come over to them. Frostpaw rose to her paws and obeyed, pretending not to hear Pinepaw's sigh of disappointment as she padded up to the siblings.
"Have you eaten yet?" Autumnpaw meowed, a rabbit at his paws. "Remember, Swoopstrike said we need to eat before we head to the gathering! Do you want to share this with me?"
Frostpaw looked at the prey with curiosity. Not many rabbits found their way into ShadowClan's pine forest and marshes
"Sure," Frostpaw meowed.
She bent down and took a bite of the rabbit.
"It's good," she meowed. "I haven't had rabbit before."
"Well then move your fluffy tail over and let me try!" Autumnpaw said with a purr of amusement.
Frostpaw obediently scooted over and Autumnpaw tucked into the prey.
"It is good," he mumbled through a mouthful of meat. "And that'll show WindClan! We got one of their rabbits."
"And, why do we care about WindClan?" Pinepaw asked with a wrinkle of her nose.
"Did you hear?" Autumnpaw meowed, an excited gleam in his amber eyes. "Frostpaw got into a confrontation with WindClan today!"
"Really?" Poolpaw asked, turning to Frostpaw.
Pinepaw flattened her ears.
"Are you sure she's just not making it all up?" Pinepaw sniffed.
Frostpaw shrugged, not in the mood to argue with the difficult she-cat.
"Sedgestar is going to make an announcement about it before we leave for the gathering," Frostpaw meowed. "So, you'll hear about it soon enough."
Frostpaw quickly finished off her half of the rabbit before excusing herself to the apprentice's den to take a nap before the gathering.
She pushed her way through the unfriendly looking holly bush that guarded the apprentice's den and into the much cozier, friendlier looking, moss-lined interior. Damppaw was the only other apprentice in the den, and he was sound asleep in his nest. Frostpaw quietly padded around him, careful not to wake him up and have her ears clawed off by him for being an annoying rogue that stomped around as loudly as a badger. Luckily, the tom remained fast asleep, and she made it to her nest without incident. Frostpaw's nest was pushed up against the wall of the den, next to the holly bush's branches. It was more drafty than the nests more close to the center of the den, but it was new-leaf so the air wasn't too cold, and Frostpaw's long pelt was thick. Autumnpaw's, Poolpaw's and Pinepaw's nests were more close to the center of the den, but Damppaw and Dewpaw as the oldest apprentices, got the best nests, right in the center. Frostpaw supposed that she could try to move her nest closer to her younger den-mates. She didn't think Autumnpaw, Poolpaw or Dewpaw would mind, but she hadn't thought it worth the fight that it would probably create with Pinepaw and Damppaw.
So, Frostpaw settled into her cramped little nest pushed up against the holly's branches, closed her eyes and let the dark blanket of sleep wash over her.
Frostpaw was jerked awake by a paw shaking her shoulder. She blinked her eyes open, the fluffy red form standing over her coming into focus as the sleep faded from her vision.
"The sun is starting to set," Autumnpaw meowed. "I think Sedgestar is going to call a clan meeting soon."
Frostpaw felt a flash of anxiety as she imagined Sedgestar talking about her to the whole clan, but she did her best to push the feeling away and ignore it.
"Coming," Frostpaw muttered through a wide yawn.
She stumbled to her paws, and as Autumnpaw excitedly bounded out of the den, she followed more slowly.
As Frostpaw exited the holly bush, she scanned the camp, spotting Sedgestar sitting at the base of Clanrock, close to the moss-covered entrance to the medicine cat's den. He sat in a small circle with Grovepelt, Emberflower, Clearstream, and Elmclaw. Sedgestar seemed to be listening intently to something Clearstream was saying, nodding along to his medicine cat's words.
Frostpaw glanced away from him and looked around camp. There seemed to be a lot of cats milling about, probably eager to know who would be going to the gathering. Frostpaw padded over to where Autumnpaw and the rest of the other apprentices were sitting, taking a seat a little on the outskirts of the group.
The sun had just dipped below the horizon when Sedgestar excused himself from his inner circle of advisors and bounded to the top of the Clanrock, his eyes bright.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath Clanrock for a clan meeting!" Sedgestar announced.
Frostpaw noticed that the words were really more ceremonial than anything else because almost everyone was already hanging out in camp, expecting some sort of announcement before the gathering. But, the cats quieted down and turned towards their leader.
Sedgestar was quiet for a moment like he was getting his thoughts in order.
"As you all know," Sedgestar began. "Tonight is a night of the full-moon. But, before we leave for the gathering, there are some important things that everyone should hear."
Sedgestar hesitated for a moment, his brown-striped tail twitching.
"WindClan and its leader Rabbitstar have insulted us today," Sedgestar said, his voice becoming cold. "Rabbitstar blatantly crossed our borders in an attempt to attack Frostpaw while she and Swoopstrike were hunting near the WindClan border. Swoopstrike managed to drive Rabbitstar back onto his own land, but this insult to us cannot stand."
Yowls of anger rose up from the crowd.
"Who does Rabbitstar think he is?!" Greytail hissed, baring her yellowed fangs.
"At least WindClan's old leader had some respect for ShadowClan," Flymask complained to his den-mates. "Rabbitstar has less sense than a kit!"
"If I was a few seasons younger, I'd teach that scrawny tom a lesson!" Treefur growled in agreement, digging his claws into the ground.
Sedgestar waved his tail for silence. Reluctantly the clan settled down. Darkpelt got to his paws, gazing up at Sedgestar.
"What are we going to do about them?" Darkpelt growled, his black fur bristling.
"WindClan cannot face us in battle," Sedgestar rumbled in a low, threatening voice. "If they have any sense, they must know that. We have them in numbers and strength."
There was a little bit of cheering from the crowd. Frostpaw glanced over at her den-mates. Pinepaw, Damppaw, and Poolpaw were among the cheerers; they gazed up at Sedgestar with bright eyes.
"…Because of this, I hope to solve this transgression without conflict," Sedgestar continued over the cheering of the crowd.
The cheering quickly died away, and some cats gazed up at Sedgestar in confusion.
"Why?" Fogfur protested, rising to his paws. "If we can beat them in battle, why don't we? That will teach them a lesson."
"You're not wrong," Sedgestar said to Fogfur, nodding to him. "But, Rabbitstar didn't steal any prey or attack anyone, even though he may have tried. I would rather not risk injuring my warriors for a relatively small insult. Granted, we cannot allow this behavior from WindClan to continue because then it could escalate to something much worse. So, if Rabbitstar doesn't change his ways, a battle will be inevitable… but at least for right now, it isn't."
Fogfur sat down without another word of protest, but he was still frowning slightly. Frostpaw glanced over at Swoopstrike to see what his expression looked like, but his face was unreadable.
"I will demand an apology from Rabbitstar tonight in front of the other leaders," Sedgestar continued. "Rabbitstar insulted our pride by trespassing, so he will have to swallow his pride and humble himself before us, the other four clans, and StarClan to make up for it. We will also show Rabbitstar that we are strong and not to be trifled with. I want all of the apprentices and their mentors to come to the gathering tonight. Emberflower, Hootflight, Darkpelt, Leafbreeze, Redclaw and Weaseltail will come too."
The named cats rose to their paws as Sedgestar bounded down from Clanrock, indicating that the meeting was over.
"We will head out when it's fully dark," Sedgestar meowed to the standing group.
Frostpaw gazed at the large group of cats. She knew from Swoopstrike that ShadowClan was the biggest clan in the forest right now, and it seemed that Sedgestar wanted to make sure WindClan was well aware of that since he had chosen a huge group of warriors to go. Autumnpaw turned around and his gaze met Frostpaw's. He bounded over to her, his fur prickling with excitement.
"WindClan won't even know what hit them!" he said.
After sunset, the large group headed off, silently trekking through the dark forest.
Frostpaw glanced around. Despite the full moon, the dense canopy of pine branches above them blotted out most of the light, and all she could make out of her clan-mates were flickers of shadows here and there, and flashes of reflective eyes. The large group also moved with surprising quietness, no one spoke or hardly made a sound at all. Frostpaw had to consciously lay her paws as carefully and quietly as she could on the ground as they walked, not wanting to be the only one with noisy footfalls.
As they padded past the Burnt Sycamore, Frostpaw recognized the direction they were heading; towards the ThunderClan border.
We must be going to the tunnel. Grovepelt said it was used to get to gatherings.
Frostpaw's hunch was right, and soon the acidic tang of the thunderpath hung in the air as Sedgestar led the group towards the tunnel that went under the thunderpath. Sedgestar was the first to enter the black hole that yawned in the earth, and the last thing Frostpaw saw was his brown-striped tail flicking to indicate for the group to follow before that too was swallowed by the shadows. Frostpaw waited her turn as the patrol streamed through the tunnel. After Swoopstrike vanished inside, Frostpaw padded up to the tunnel and forced herself not to hesitate as she strode inside.
She blinked. It was pitch black down there, and Frostpaw was guided forward only by her whiskers. After walking for a short while, Frostpaw felt two breezes on her whiskers from different directions, which seemed to indicate a split in the tunnel ahead. Frostpaw scented the air, and sure enough through the stinging scent of the thunderpath, she seemed to detect the sweet scent of heather from the moorland in one direction, and the musky scent of trees in another. Her clan-mates scent headed towards the trees, so Frostpaw continued on that way.
Pale moonlight flickered ahead, heralding the end of the tunnel. As Frostpaw exited the tunnel, she had to crouch down low under a prickly bramble bush that grew hunched over the entrance, hiding it from view. As Frostpaw wiggled out from under the bush, she blinked as she emerged back into the outside world. But, this forest wasn't the familiar one that she had just been walking through. For one, there weren't as many pine trees, and there was much more dense undergrowth in every direction. Frostpaw's pelt prickled uncomfortably as she looked around. She didn't like not being able to see the area around her; it made her feel boxed in.
Sedgestar and the rest of the patrol were waiting a few fox-lengths away from the bramble bush for everyone to appear from the mouth of the tunnel. Frostpaw padded over to them, and they waited until Leafbreeze, the last in the patrol emerged. Then Sedgestar waved his tail, and the group was off again. It was a short walk through the woods to a crest of a hill, where Sedgestar and the rest of the patrol lingered. Frostpaw looked down the hill, and her eyes widened at the sight before her.
Four massive oak trees soared towards the sky down in the hollow at the base of the hill. The trees were ringed by a dense circle of vegetation, but she could see the forms of cats flickering through the undergrowth in the clearing between the trees. Right in the center of the clearing a huge boulder jutted upwards. It was even bigger than Clanrock, and it made an imposing lone figure; the cats beside it looked tiny in comparison.
Sedgestar gave a flick of his tail, and like a surging river, ShadowClan ran down the hill together. Frostpaw was careful to keep up with her clan-mates, not wanting to be the only one lingering behind on the hill. As soon as the cats brushed through the vegetation and into the clearing, the silent spell that had seemed to have been hanging over the patrol was broken. Frostpaw watched her clan-mates happily chatting with each other, some even headed off alone into the crowd, meowing hellos at acquaintances from other Clans. Frostpaw hung back, taking in the huge groups of cats, unsure of where to begin.
Frostpaw was glad to see that Autumnpaw, Poolpaw, and Pinepaw were also lingering by the edge, looking as overwhelmed as she felt. Frostpaw padded over to them and Autumnpaw greeted her with a quick purr.
"Where do we start?" Poolpaw gasped, unabashedly staring into the crowd.
"The crowd can seem a bit overwhelming your first gathering," Redclaw purred, padding up to the group of apprentices. "Why don't you try talking to some apprentices from different clans? The night of the full moon is a truce, so there's no need to worry about getting your fur clawed."
"I'm not worried!" Pinepaw huffed, shaking out her dark coat. "But, I don't want to talk to any WindClan apprentices. And, I don't know why Sedgestar is even bothering talking to them tonight! They're trespassers that need to be taught a lesson!"
"Sedgestar is very wise," Redclaw meowed, shooting her daughter a sharp look. "He understands that there are times when battle isn't necessary."
"And, besides," Redclaw said, giving Pinepaw's ears an affectionate flick with her tail. "If I know anything about Rabbitstar… having to apologize in front of all of the Clans will be worse for him than any battle!"
Frostpaw purred alongside the three siblings.
"Now go along and have some fun before the leaders hog the whole gathering talking about themselves," Redclaw meowed, her eyes sparkling playfully.
Redclaw padded away, meowing hello to a queen that smelt of ThunderClan.
"I see Damppaw with some RiverClan cats!" Pinepaw meowed, her gaze lighting up. "I'm going to sit with them."
Pinepaw shot a glance back at the other apprentices.
"You two can join me if you want," she said pointedly to Autumnpaw and Poolpaw, ignoring Frostpaw.
"And, listen to Damppaw boast all night about how he's the greatest hunter in the whole forest?" Autumnpaw meowed with a wrinkle of his nose. "No thanks."
Poolpaw snickered, while Pinepaw flicked her tail, giving a sniff.
"Suit yourself," she meowed, padding off into the crowd.
"Let's go find some apprentices to talk to like Mom said," Autumnpaw meowed.
Poolpaw nodded in agreement, and Autumnpaw turned to Frostpaw.
"Are you coming?" he meowed.
Frostpaw was still gazing at the big crowd, but she gave her head a shake to snap herself out of it.
"Yeah," she meowed.
Autumnpaw led the way, padding intrepidly into the crowd. Poolpaw followed behind him, with Frostpaw taking the rear. The crowd of cats was dense, however, and soon Frostpaw got separated from the brothers, losing track of Poolpaw's black and white pelt.
Frostpaw's pace slowed, and she hesitantly scented the air, but it was hard to decipher Poolpaw's and Autumnpaw's scents from the scents of so many other cats and clans packed in so closely together. Frostpaw just picked the general direction they were padding in and continued that way, hoping that she'd be able to spot them once she got to an area where the crowd was less dense. Frostpaw brushed around a large tabby, and—
"…May?"
The name was whispered in a shocked, hushed voice. It was so quiet that Frostpaw's ears barely deciphered it among the sounds of so many cats chatting together. But, although the voice had been soft, the familiar word cut Frostpaw down to her heart like an ice-cold claw, sending a chill racing through her body as if she had fallen into a river of freezing water. Frostpaw whipped around towards the voice, and out of the crowd of many cats her gaze fell on a large white tom. He was a few fox-lengths away from her, staring at her with wide green eyes, looking like he just saw a ghost. Their gazes locked together.
"…Who are you?" Frostpaw asked.
Her voice trembled slightly, and she felt her heart hammering in her chest.
The fluffy white tom blinked and gave his head a sharp shake like he was snapping himself out of a trance.
"My mistake," he meowed quickly, looking away from her. "For a moment, I thought you were someone else."
"How do you know that name?" Frostpaw asked.
He voice was hushed, but it reverberated with intensity as she took a step towards him.
The white tom didn't respond. Instead he turned and quickly padded away, into the crowd, his form rapidly getting lost in the sea of pelts. Frostpaw took another step in his direction, about to follow him, when a different voice interrupted her.
"Who were you just talking to?"
Swoopstrike materialized at Frostpaw's side, causing her to jump slightly.
"I—I don't know," she stammered. "I didn't get his name."
Swoopstrike shot her a look from narrowed eyes, but then his gaze flickered from her to the cats around them. Frostpaw and Swoopstrike had drawn the attention of some neighboring WindClan cats, and now they were staring daggers at the mentor and apprentice.
"That's the weird-furred apprentice that was at our border today," a dark tabby WindClan warrior said, in a voice deliberately loud enough to be overheard by Frostpaw.
A few other WindClan cats hissed at them.
"The gathering will be starting soon," Swoopstrike said to Frostpaw, ignoring the WindClan cats besides shooting them a scorching look. "Let's go sit with our Clan. Stay close to me."
Frostpaw nodded.
I wonder if he wants me to stay close to protect me from the WindClan cats. Or, if he doesn't trust me to not spill ShadowClan secrets like the one about the tunnel…
Frostpaw followed Swoopstrike through the crowd, over to where ShadowClan was loosely grouped, with some unfamiliar cats from the other clans mixed in. But, Frostpaw couldn't put the white cat out of her mind.
How does he know my mother's name? Did May know about other Clans besides ShadowClan?
An image of her mother appeared in Frostpaw's mind. She saw her soft-furred form, her cream colored body, her grey tail and legs, and her grey masked face with a kind expression.
Frostpaw looked down at her feet. She wasn't surprised that the white tom had mistaken her for her mother. She looked just like her. There were some differences of course, like Frostpaw's legs were grey tabby striped instead of solid colored, and she had white toes. And, she knew from the glimpses she could get of her reflection in pools of water that her grey face was also striped and she had a white chin. But, the two of them were clearly kin. Especially considering the fact that it seemed like no other cat in the forest had May's and Frostpaw's coloring.
Frostpaw wished that she could see May again. She was just realizing that she knew almost nothing about her own mother. Frostpaw had no idea where she came from, or how she knew the Clans, or how she knew that white cat.
As she and Swoopstrike approached their clan-mates, Autumnpaw, who was sitting by Poolpaw and Dewpaw, and an apprentice Frostpaw didn't recognize, waved his tail at Frostpaw, gesturing for her to come sit by him. Frostpaw glanced over at Swoopstrike for permission, and he nodded. Frostpaw padded over to her den-mates.
"There you are!" Autumnpaw meowed cheerfully. "You must have gotten lost!"
Frostpaw just nodded, deciding not to say anything about her strange encounter with the white cat just yet, and she took a seat next to Autumnpaw.
"Hello," the unfamiliar brown tabby apprentice meowed from behind Frostpaw as she settled down. "My name is Larchpaw. I'm a SkyClan apprentice."
"I'm Frostpaw. ShadowClan," Frostpaw meowed, turning back to look at her. "This is my first gathering."
"Mine too!" Larchpaw meowed, her tail curling up happily.
She shot Frostpaw a shy look.
"Can I just say your fur is so pretty! How do you only have grey on your face and legs like that?" Larchpaw purred.
Frostpaw felt her fur flush with heat.
"I don't know… I was just born like this I guess," she mumbled.
Frostpaw, her ears still warm, turned to look back forward towards the Great Rock. As she did so, she caught a wave of Larchpaw's scent. She smelt like windblown trees, and Frostpaw was startled to realize that she had picked up a flash of that same scent from the white tom she had spoken to earlier.
Frostpaw was pulled out of her thoughts when Autumnpaw leaned towards her.
"Which one is Rabbitstar?" Autumnpaw whispered to Frostpaw, looking up at the five cats perched on the massive rock that jutted up in the middle of the clearing.
"The ginger furred one," Frostpaw said, her gaze flickering to Rabbitstar.
He stood a little ways away from the other leaders, at the edge of the boulder. Frostpaw's gaze scanned the rest of the cats there. Sedgestar sat right in the middle, two cats on either side of him. Frostpaw thought he looked calm and collected, with his long tail wrapped neatly around his paws and his head held high, cutting a regal figure against the dark sky. To Sedgestar's left, between him and Rabbitstar, was a sleek grey tabby she-cat. To Sedgestar's right were two toms, one a pale brown, and the other a light grey.
Frostpaw's gaze drifted downwards. At the base of the Great Rock sat the deputies. Frostpaw's gaze skimmed over the familiar fur of Grovepelt as she eyed a brown tom, a golden tabby she-cat, a tabby tom, and…
Frostpaw felt a jolt as she spotted the white tom sitting there with the other deputies.
Is the white cat SkyClan's deputy?
"I know RiverClan's leader, Willowstar, is a she-cat so she must be the grey tabby next to Sedgestar," Autumnpaw murmured to Frostpaw. "That means ThunderClan's and SkyClan's leaders are on the toms on Sedgestar's other side, but I don't know which one's which."
"ThunderClan's leader, Morningstar, is the grey tom," Dewpaw meowed, overhearing Autumnpaw. "And, SkyClan's leader, Fennelstar is the pale brown one with bushy fur."
"Oh, thanks," Autumnpaw said with a purr of laughter. "I forgot that you've been to a gathering before."
"Who are the deputies?" Frostpaw asked quickly.
"The tabby tom is RiverClan's, Perchpelt. The brown tom, there, is Acornear, from ThunderClan. Then there's Wheatfur from WindClan. She's the golden one. And, the white one is Paledusk from SkyClan," Dewpaw said, rattling off the names quickly, and flicking her tail in the direction of each to indicate as she said their names.
Why would the SkyClan deputy know my mother? Frostpaw thought, her brow furrowing.
"Paledusk has only been our deputy for a few moons," Larchpaw meowed helpfully from behind Frostpaw. "Robinsong died of green-cough during leafbare, and he was named deputy to replace her."
Frostpaw wanted to ask Larchpaw what else she knew about Paledusk, but her attention was directed back to the Great Rock as there was movement from the leaders. Willowstar had strode forward, raising her tail for attention.
"Cats of the five Clans of the forest," Willowstar meowed in a loud voice. "Tonight is the night of the full-moon. So, let the gathering begin."
Quiet settled over the cats as they waited for their leaders to speak. Willowstar dipped her head courteously to the other leaders.
"Who would like to start?" she asked.
Morningstar was on his paws immediately, his grey-furred tail held high.
"New-leaf has brought bountiful prey to our territory, and ThunderClan is stronger than ever," he announced, with a pointed look at the other leaders, his gaze resting on Rabbitstar and Fennelstar specifically. "We've seen the births of two litters of kits in the past moon, and the making of a new warrior, Rockstorm."
The ThunderClan cats cheered, and there was some mutterings of congratulations for Rockstorm from cats from the other Clans. Frostpaw craned her neck to look at the grey tom for a moment. Autumnpaw leaned close to her.
"Remember how ThunderClan almost died during leaf-bare?" he whispered into her ear. "It sounds like Morningstar is eager to make them sound strong again."
"Yeah, their numbers are still low. They don't even have any apprentices now that Rockstorm's a warrior," Dewpaw added, nodding.
"Ha! Poor Rockstorm. He's left the apprentice's den, but he'll still be changing elders' nests and checking them for ticks!" Poolpaw snickered from behind them.
"That is all I have to report," Morningstar said.
Morningstar stepped back, casting the other leaders another suspicious glance as he did so. Willowstar strode forward, seemingly unbothered by his pointed look.
"The fish are swimming well in RiverClan," the pretty tabby purred in a silky voice. "And, I am pleased to announce that our medicine cat, Pebblestripe, has decided to take on an apprentice. RiverClan welcomes Hailpaw."
Frostpaw looked over to the medicine cats and was surprised to see that the medicine cats from all of the Clans were grouped closely together like old friends.
I guess they do spend a lot of time together during the half-moon.
Frostpaw assumed that the cat shyly ducking her head over there, a white she-cat with some grey tabby patches, was the new apprentice, Hailpaw. Cats cheered for Hailpaw like they did Rockstorm, but Frostpaw noticed the cheering for Hailpaw was louder, and more cats outside of RiverClan joined in, even some of her clan-mates.
Is that because she's training to be a medicine cat? Or, is RiverClan just more liked than ThunderClan?
"Hailpaw will make her first journey to Mothermouth at the next half-moon, where her apprenticeship shall be announced before StarClan," Willowstar finished after the cheering died down, and she returned to her seat, with a flick of her tail to indicate that she was done.
Fennelstar shot Sedgestar a questioning look, and Sedgestar courteously inclined his head towards the SkyClan leader, indicating for Fennelstar to go. Fennelstar rose to his paws, his spiky, bushy fur waving in the slight breeze.
"SkyClan is doing well. There is some two-leg activity on our borders; it appears like they are building more nests," he announced. "But, our prey are still running well. If anything, it's doing better than ever because the two-legs are scaring everything in our direction. So, thank you, two-legs."
There were some purrs of laughter from the cats in the crowd. Frostpaw glanced over and noticed everyone seemed amused besides the ThunderClan cats, who stared up at Fennelstar with stony gazes.
"That's funny. If prey is running so well, then why are your warriors hunting beyond your borders?" Morningstar said, rising to his paws to confront Fennelstar.
Fennelstar turned to look at the ThunderClan leader, blinking at him slowly.
"SkyClan cats are not thieves," Fennelstar meowed. "Have you actually seen any of my warriors in your territory?"
Morningstar shifted uneasily from paw to paw.
"No," he admitted. "But, we can scent you."
Fennelstar shrugged.
"Winds blow the scent-markers all over the place. That doesn't mean cats have been there," Fennelstar said.
The fur down Morningstar's back raised.
"You think I can't tell the difference between trespassing cats and windblown scent markers?!" he hissed, his voice vibrating with outrage.
Fennelstar didn't reply, but he did give an ear twitch which seemed to indicate that was the case. Morningstar gave another hiss, rounding on the SkyClan leader.
Sedgestar rose to his paws, wedging his way in between the two bristling cats.
"Watch your tempers," he said in a low rumbling voice. "It is a Gathering after all."
Sedgestar turned to Fennelstar.
"Have you finished your report?" he asked.
Fennelstar dipped his head to indicate Sedgestar should go. Sedgestar turned to sweep his gaze over the crowd.
"ShadowClan is at the height of our strength," Sedgestar said.
His voice wasn't necessarily loud, but it was still strong, carrying all out through the clearing with a sort of effortless power. Frostpaw noticed her clan-mates were sitting up a bit straighter, their heads were held a pit more proudly, and their eyes shined as they looked up at their leader.
"We've made four new apprentices this past moon," Sedgestar said, nodding towards Frostpaw and the others.
Frostpaw felt her pelt prickle uncomfortably as the strange cats from the other Clans turned to stare at them. There were a few murmurs of congratulations, but no cheering. The mood had been soured by Morningstar's confrontation with SkyClan.
"And, we are expecting more kits to be born very soon, so our ranks will continue to swell." Sedgestar continued, but then his voice darkened. "But, speaking of trespassing cats…"
He paused for a moment, and everyone at the gathering watched him intently with bated breath, waiting for whatever came next. Sedgestar turned his head to look at Rabbitstar. The ginger tom met his gaze unflinchingly.
"Just today one of my warriors reported to me that Rabbitstar himself had crossed the border to attempt to attack one of our apprentices, who was simply hunting in our territory," Sedgestar said, his voice turning icy cold as he stared at the WindClan leader. "I ask the WindClan leader to explain this blatant disrespect for our borders and senseless act of aggression towards ShadowClan, and to apologize for this indiscretion."
"You want me to apologize?!" Rabbitstar said in an incredulous tone.
"I don't 'want' it, I expect it," Sedgestar said with a hint of a snarl in his voice. "You have wronged ShadowClan, and if you want this good nature that's existed between our Clans for moons to continue, you will apologize."
Rabbitstar rose to his paws, baring his teeth at Sedgestar.
"I wouldn't have crossed the border if your apprentice hadn't insulted me. So, I ask the ShadowClan leader to teach their apprentices more respect towards Clan leaders," Rabbitstar spat.
Rabbitstar flicked his tail downwards to indicate Frostpaw in the crowd. Frostpaw froze, feeling her muscles tense up as everyone in the gathering's attention was focused on her.
"That is the apprentice that insulted me," Rabbitstar continued. "Look at her strange fur pattern. She must be the rogue kit that you adopted into your Clan moons ago, Sedgestar, isn't she? Maybe I'd be able to respect your Clan's borders if you didn't pollute it with such trash."
Frostpaw ducked down, her heart hammering. There were a few gasps at Rabbitstar's words from cats in the other Clans, and some jeering from WindClan. Frostpaw heard the sound of furious hissing from behind her. She cast a glance back and saw Redclaw was on her paws, looking like at any moment, she might launch herself up the Great Rock to attack Rabbitstar herself.
Sedgestar raised his tail commandingly for silence, but he didn't wait for it to fall before turning on Rabbitstar, looming over the smaller tom threateningly.
"Unlike your Clan, ShadowClan respects the Warrior Code. This is why we adopted an orphaned kit in need, and it is also what keeps us from traipsing all over and across the border like you do. But, you are right about one thing, Rabbitstar… I don't teach my cats to respect you. Because you are not worthy of my Clan's respect," Sedgestar rumbled. "You are so cowardly that you take out your insecurities about your capabilities as leader on a young apprentice. Pathetic. I pity your warriors for having such a weak leader."
Shouts of outrage emerged from WindClan. Frostpaw was jostled as Autumnpaw rose to his feet beside her, turning towards the WindClan cats and bristling out his fur. Frostpaw looked around in shock. ShadowClan and WindClan were both rising to their paws, teeth and claws bared, fangs flashing. Sedgestar's amber eyes glinted threateningly in the moonlight, but he barreled on with his speech before Rabbitstar had a chance to respond, leaning in close to the ginger tom.
"But, so be it. If it's your desire for our Clans to be enemies, then it is done," Sedgestar growled. "I hope you sleep well at night, Rabbitstar. There is no need to keep watch. You won't see us coming either way."
Frostpaw blinked. Strangely, it seemed like the night was getting darker, as if the leader of ShadowClan's words had somehow summoned the shadows themselves.
"ShadowClan, we're done here," Sedgestar said, bounding off the Great Rock and into the crowd of his clan-mates.
Frostpaw hastily rose to her feet, feeling her pelt jostled on every side as ShadowClan grouped tightly together around their leader, quickly pulling away from any cats of other clans in their midst. Moving as one, ShadowClan bounded out of the clearing, scaling the hills that surrounded the hollow. At the crest of the hill, Frostpaw cast a final glance over her shoulder. The four other Clans remained down in the clearing. She saw the dark silhouettes of the leaders on top of the Great Rock, and the deputies crouched at the foot of it. Her gaze lingered on the SkyClan deputy, Paledusk. His white coat seemed to glow in the dim light, almost acting as a beacon for her gaze. After a heartbeat, Frostpaw looked away and her eyes drifted upwards from him to the sky. A narrow cloud slashed across the full moon like a claw, casting the shadow of darkness over the forest.
With a final glance at the moon, Frostpaw turned, and ShadowClan vanished into the forest.
Author's Note:
Writing Sedgestar's sassy speech at the end of the Gathering was so much fun. I'm growing more and more fond of him the more I write, and the more his character develops haha. And, hopefully I'll be back again next week with the next chapter!
Reviews:
Hatakefire: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And, I'm happy to have you reading :)