"Hey, Starlingpaw? Would you mind helping me collect some more horsetail and marigold leaves?" Came the voice of her mentor, Cinderpelt. Starlingpaw shook her head to clear her thoughts as she turned and gave Cinderpelt a nod and a bright smile, and the dark gray she-cat returned it. "We should let Firestar know where we're going," the sable-furred apprentice mewed, and Cinderpelt nodded in agreement as the two made there way to Firestar's den at the base of Highrock.
When the two she-cats entered Firestar's den, they saw that he was talking with two other cats. Starlingpaw's eyes landed on the two other cats, one was a white furred tomcat with bright blue eyes, and the other cat was a pretty white furred molly with bright ginger patches and one blueish-green eye was visible. "Hello, Cloudtail. Hello, Brightheart." Cinderpelt greeted the two other cats with a nod and a warm smile, witch they both returned. "So, Cinderpelt, Starlingpaw, what can I do for you?" Firestar asked the two of them as they entered his den.
Cinderpelt smiled bashfully and ducked her head. "We're going out to collect herbs." She mewed. Firestar nodded and Starlingpaw and Cinderpelt left the den and made there way out of camp and through the gorse tunnel. "Starlingpaw, do you remember what we're looking for?" Cinderpelt asked her apprentice. Starlingpaw nodded and quickly mewed, "Some horsetail and marigold leaves," Cinderpelt nodded with a proud gleam in her eyes.
It took a while but Cinderpelt and Starlingpaw finally gathered all of the herbs that they needed and with the herbs clutched in there jaws, the two she-cats began making there way back to camp. As they passed through the gorse tunnel that lead into camp, the two she-cats patted towards the medicine den to begin sorting the herbs.
"I think we might need to go and gather some more herbs tomorrow," Starlingpaw mewed to her mentor while checking the shelves of herbs. Cinderpelt lifted her head from her sorting work and with a confused look on her face, she limped over to see what her apprentice was referring to. "What are we running low on, Starlingpaw?" The sable-furred apprentice motioned with her tail to where she had just organized what was remaining of the time leaves and cobwebs. Cinderpelt sighed heavily and flattened her ears. "Well we can't go back out now. It's almost sundown." The dark gray she-cat mewed tiredly.
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"
Firestar's yowl echoed across the camp. Starlingpaw perked her ears up. After a busy day of hunting practice 'Because even medicine cats need to learn how to hunt!' and gathering herbs for their leafbare stores, not to mention hearing every cat's thoughts, Starlingpaw was ready to relax.
"Attention, ThunderClan! We are going to attend tonight's Gathering! The cats I have selected are: Brambleclaw, Brightheart, Cinderpelt, Cloudtail, Squirrelflight, Frostfur, Sandstorm, Starlingpaw, Kestrelpaw, Swiftpaw, and Winterpaw. The rest of you will stay here and guard the camp. Meeting dismissed." He finished, still staring at Starlingpaw. Well, so much for a good night's rest! Starlingpaw thought, but she was happy that she got to attend the Gathering with her new friends. From beside her, Winterpaw's thoughts were whirling.
This is amazing! I get to go to my first Gathering! I wonder what Starlingpaw thinks?
"This is amazing! I get to go to my first Gathering! What do you think?" Winterpaw meowed. Starlingpaw stifled a purr. Leave it to Winterpaw to speak her mind!
"It sounds really fun! I can't wait to go!" Starlingpaw mewed, hoping she sounded excited enough. Swiftpaw and Kestrelpaw purred.
"C'mon, Starling, Firestar's leaving!" Kestrelpaw yowled, and together, the four apprentices followed Firestar as he padded out of the grassy camp clearing, with the other warriors and apprentices following him as he went.
Starlingpaw shuffled her paws nervously as she sat beside Cinderpelt with the rest of her clanmates. This was her first gathering since becoming an apprentice back in ShadowClan. The sable she-cat shook those thoughts away and returned to the present.
"Hey, Starlingpaw! I was wondering if you wanted to meet this other medicine cat apprentice from RiverClan?" She asked her tentatively. Starlingpaw purred.
"I'd love to! Where are they?" She asked, glancing around the clearing. Cinderpelt's whiskers twitched and she led her over to a large white tabby and a smaller pretty white tabby with dazzling green eyes. The white she-cat smiled politely when she saw the pair and mewed happily in greeting.
"Hello, Cinderpelt! A pleasure to see you! This is my apprentice, Polarpaw. And who's this?" The she-cat asked, nodding to Starlingpaw. Cinderpelt nudged her.
"Oh! Um, my name is Starlingpaw, and I've just become an apprentice." She meowed. The black she-cat purred.
"Well, Polarpaw, I'm going to go chat with the other medicine cats. You can go talk with whoever." Polarpaw nodded.
"Okay. Bye, Icepetal!" She called. Starlingpaw shifted her paws. Polarpaw nodded and smiled at Starlingpaw.
She seems nice. I bet she and Ripplepaw would make good friends! The fluffy white apprentice thought. Starlingpaw tilted her head to the side.
"Who's Ripplepaw?" She asked, then immediately regretted it. How was she supposed to know who this Ripplepaw was? She needed to get this mind-reading thing under control before somebody figured her out.
But Polarpaw didn't seem to notice, for she just smiled and gestured with her tail to a pretty white-and-cream she-cat standing with a blue-gray she-cat and a white-striped she-cat.
"That's Ripplepaw! She's my best friend! Well, besides Sealpaw I mean, but she's my sister, so like... well, anyways, you should go talk to her!" Polarpaw finished, shaking her white tabby pelt out. Starlingpaw nodded a thanks to Polarpaw, and Starlingpaw started to pad over to Ripplepaw, but then she caught one of Polarpaw's thoughts, Well, I guess that was a short talk. Starlingpaw inwardly slapped herself. How could she be so rude?!
"Um, my friend Swiftpaw's over there. You could go chat with her, she's really nice!" Starlingpaw called hastily. Polarpaw seemed to lighten up.
"Okay! Thanks, Starlingpaw!" She called back, and dashed off to Swiftpaw, who was chatting with a russet she-cat and a light gray tom.
Now that that was taken care of, Starlingpaw padded over to Ripplepaw and the two she-cats. The blue-gray she-cat was saying something to the two apprentices.
"So I had to collect moss on my first day! Moss!" She yowled. Ripplepaw purred, but then the small white-striped she-cat turned hher pale yellow gaze on Starlingpaw.
"Hey! Who are you?" She asked excitedly. Starlingpaw shifted her paws and tried to look excited.
"Er, my name is Starlingpaw. I've, um, just become a medicine cat apprentice two sunrises ago," she finished. The blueish-gray she-cat grinned.
"I'm Bluepaw, and I was also apprenticed two sunrises ago! Only, I'm going to be a moss warrior," she purred, and Ripplepaw laughed, remembering the tale she'd told them.
"Hah! Well, I'm Ripplepaw, and I was apprenticed a moon ago, but this is my first Gathering." She explained. And finally, it was the white-striped she-cat's turn.
"I'm Wolfpaw, and I was apprenticed at the same time as Bluepaw and you!" She meowed. Starlingpaw purred, and chose that time to read their thoughts.
Bluepaw was thinking something along the lines of, I bet I could teleport into enemy territory with my new powers!
Ripplepaw was thinking, I wonder if I could put a thorn in Flamepaw's bedding with my telekinesis! It'd sure serve him right for that time he put that huge hairy gross spider in my bedding!
And Wolfpaw was thinking, Zoom! Zoom! I bet I can beat even Flowerleaf! Or maybe Copperbreeze, except he's really slow. Wow, I love these powers!
Starlingpaw recoiled in shock. All these cats had powers? Like her? Well, these powers were different then hers. It seemed that Bluepaw could teleport, Ripplepaw had telekinesis, and Wolfpaw had super-speed. What could this mean? What do these three cats have in common with her? And why and how did they have these powers?
Starlingpaw was about to call out for Kestrelpaw and Spottedpaw to come over and join her, Ripplepaw, Bluepaw, and Wolfpaw, but at that moment Firestar spoke.
"ThunderClan brings to this gathering our new medicine cat, Cinderpelt. We also bring Cinderpelt's new apprentice, Starlingpaw." Firestar meowed, getting the attention of the other Clan cats.
Yowls of outrage rang out from the ShadowClan cats, they all growled and snarled at the young she-cat, who backed away and hid behind her mentor. "Why would you even except that filthy thing into your Clan? Do you know who's daughter she is?" One of the ShadowClan queens yowled in fury and horror.
"Shut your trap, Glimmertail. Let Firestar and the other leaders speak before you start yowling insults!" Hissed a black tabby she-cat.
"Ugh! You actually feel sympathy for that little she-fox? That's so typical of you, Twilightheart!" Glimmertail hissed, lashing her tail from side-to-side and digging her claws into the dirt.
Twilightheart sighed softly and narrowed her dark purple eyes at Glimmertail. "Yes, yes I do, Glimmertail," she meowed calmly yet forcefully. "But why?" Glimmertail asked the black-and-silver she-cat with confusion in her voice instead of the anger that had previously been lacing her tone.
"Because she's only an apprentice," Twilightheart responded cooly. "She has no control over who her father is, and her poor mother..." the dark-furred she-cat sighed and looked up at her friend with sad eyes. "Lightchaser didn't even get a say in her daughter's exile from the Clan," as Twilightheart said this, she glanced over at a white-furred queen, who's frosty blue eyes shined with sadness and despair, no doubt still feeling the loss of her only surviving kit.
"Oh yeah... how could I forget..." Glimmertail meowed in a hushed whisper as to not upset the already distraught queen. "Dawnkit and Duskkit were taken out by Brokentail to train, and when he came back, they were dead, no doubt killed due to his harsh training methods."
Glimmertail sighed sadly and flattened her ears, then meowed angrily, "they didn't deserve to die like that! None of those kits should've died in the way they did!" Twilightheart's ears flattened and she nodded in agreement at her friends statement. "Kits should be in the nursery with their mothers at three-moons-old, not out training for battle!" The black-and-silver patched she cat growled lowly, her eyes narrowing as she remembered all of the kits that they had lost because of Brokentail.
Cinderpelt growled and glared at the small black and white she-cat who had insulted her apprentice. "She's nothing like Brokenstar!" She hissed. "Apologize to my apprentice!" Cinderpelt snarled, glaring and lashing her tail.
"Me? Apologize to that Brokenstar clone? Now why would I do that?" The she-cat retorted haughtily. Starlingpaw's eyes filled with tears and Cinderpelt couldn't take it anymore. No one insulted her apprentice like that. With an outraged yowl, Cinderpelt leapt towards the black and white she-cat, her claws unsheathed and her fur bristling.
"Why you one-faced peace of fox dung! Your a good for nothing she-cat that puts others down because it makes you feel good! And how dare you insult Starlingpaw like that you snake-hearted little-" but before Cinderpelt could finish her insults towards the stuck-up ShadowClan queen, a loud and angry mew stopped her. "That's quite enough, Cinderpelt." Firestar mewed to his former apprentice with a disappointed look on his face. Cinderpelt lowered her head in shame and mewed a quiet, "I'm sorry." And with that the gathering continued, and Tallstar was the next to speak.
"I agree with Cinderpelt," the WindClan leader mewed, and almost immediately after he spoke those words, more outraged yowls rang out from the crowd of cats. Cinderpelt sighed and dug her claws into the dirt. Maybe bringing Starlingpaw here wasn't the best idea. Cinderpelt thought to herself with a soft sigh.
"For the love of squirrels, STOP! Look at the moon!" He yowled. The fighting cats ceased their fighting and glanced up at the moon. Every cat, from the oldest elder to the tiniest kit knew that at a Gathering, if StarClan sent clouds to cover the moon, it meant that they were displeased. Starlingpaw looked up, scared to see what the answer was.
Wow, that's lucky. I really thought that StarClan would be mad! But I'm glad they're not. Wow, is that Foxpaw over there? Who's she with? She'd better not be telling anyone my secret. I know Foxpaw, she would never betray me like that, ooh, I wonder who that dark-ginger-and-white she-cat is? Wow, it's quiet. I wonder why? Nightstar should say something, but at the same time he should keep his mouth shut! Eww, yuck, some of the ShadowClan cat smell like a dying mouse!
Starlingpaw gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the endless chatter of Wolfpaw's mind. She imagined it as a butterfly. It flapped its wings and flew away. That technique seemed to help, she'd remember it for next time.
"What's the news?" Dustpelt asked, once the other ThunderClan cats had returned.
"Was ShadowClan there?" Willowpelt asked, flicking her tail and staring at Firestar, who nodded.
"Yes, they were. There was much tension between the Clan's tonight," Firestar inform them, sighing softly and curling his tail across his front paws.
"And they seemed to be horrified that we would take in Starlingpaw." Graystripe mewed from his place beside Firestar.
"Now why would ShadowClan have such hatred for a six moon old apprentice?" Mousefur meowed worriedly as she looked over at the sable-furred apprentice, who stayed close to Cinderpelt.
"I have no idea, ShadowClan cats are strange. But, Glimmertail was out of line, even if she was angry, she had no right to insult Starlingpaw like that." Cinderpelt hissed lowly with narrowed light blue eyes.
Frostfur patted over to her daughter and put her tail over her shoulder. "I understand that you angry at ShadowClan due to there treatment towards Starlingpaw, but please darling, just calm down." Cinderpelt sighed and flattened her ears, meowing angrily, "But that doesn't make it ok."
"Yeah, and you should've scene Cinderpelt. She chewed out one of the ShadowClan queens." Cloudtail said with an amused grin forming on his face. Brightheart laughed and playfully cuffed her mate over the ears with a paw.
"Cloudtail!" Firestar snapped, the white tom flattened his ears and looked down at his paws. "That's enough."
"So what do we do now, Firestar?"
Firestar sighed and twitched an ear. "I guess we keep Starlingpaw safe and continue patrolling our borders." He told his Clan.
"Go and rest now, Mousefur and Dustpelt, you will take the dawn patrol." Firestar meowed, and Dustpelt dipped his head to the ThunderClan leader.
"Yes Firestar," Dustpelt meowed, and with those final words, the other ThunderClan cats headed into their dens to sleep for the night.
Cinderpelt guided her apprentice into her den and she quietly asked Leafpool to get her a nest for Starlingpaw made in the medicine den. Leafpool nodded and went to fetch some moss. "I'm so sorry for what that ShadowClan cat said to you, Starlingpaw." Cinderpelt mewed to her apprentice with a sympathetic look on her face. Starlingpaw sniffed and hid her face in her mentor's shoulder.
Leafpool soon entered the den and put the mossy nest next to Cinderpelt's own nest. "Is Starlingpaw ok?" Leafpool mewed worriedly. Cinderpelt frowned and shook her head. "She'll be fine after a good night sleep," Cinderpelt told her former apprentice. "So, Leafpool, tell me, why did you give up the role of a medicine cat?" Cinderpelt already knew the answer but she wanted to hear it from Leafpool herself. "Because I love Crowfeather, Cinderpelt. I'm really sorry for just up and quitting on you, but... giving up my role as a medicine cat was the only way that I could be with him." Leafpool mewed sadly. "But I have great news," Leafpool continued, "I'm expecting kits!" Cinderpelt's eyes popped wide open in shock. Leafpool blushed and stared down at her paws. "Squirrelflight already knows, she was the first one I told." Leafpool mewed and Cinderpelt smiled brightly at her.