Chapter 7-The Gathering
"Good Lord!" England exclaims as he suddenly drops a tome after a few days of studying several of them, then hangs his head over his desk in shame.
"…Oh what have I done?"
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"Oh where is that cat?!" Berrynose exclaimed as he paced back in forth impatiently. "How long does it take to go hunting near the WindClan border?!"
"Calm down Berrynose," Blossomfall, Bumblestripe's other sister replied with a sigh. "Lionblaze told Maplestreak to take his time since he's not used to hunting in Clan territory. We just have to wait for him."
Lionblaze had to go on an extra patrol since the Swallowkit incident so Squirrelflight asked them to help with assessing Maplestreak in his hunting skill, much to Berrynose's dismay. Blossomfall mostly came along to keep an eye on the cream warrior so he wouldn't start something since the entire Clan knows that he has a strong distrust for their would-be saviour. He made it obvious since day one so nobody's really all that surprised at him being watched like this.
"I bet he used to eat out of twoleg homes like a kittypet!" he spat, not noticing Maplestreak just arrived with a large catch of prey in his mouth behind him in time to hear that (thanks to his naturally quiet paws). "I'm sure Lionblaze had one heck of a time training him in hunting!"
Not wanting to hear more, Maplestreak cleared his throat, making the cream warrior jump. "GREAT STARCLAN! H-how long were you standing there?!"
He put down his catch and looked at the warrior that he distrusted in return straight in the eye to show how serious he was going to be. "Long enough to be insulted like that. And I took a while because I caught a little too much prey so I'll be needing help. I buried the rest near the Sky Oak to keep WindClan from getting any ideas."
Hearing the hint of an order and seeing the look of offence on the golden cat's face, Berrynose surrendered and went to get the prey, nervous of what Maplestreak could do to him.
Blossomfall giggled. "Wow you sure showed that mouse-brained fur ball who's boss! No wonder why Bumblestripe likes you!"
"I just don't like to be offended like that so I figured I calmly teach him a lesson. It's almost as bad as not getting noticed while I'm sitting right there and I'm more used to that than the insults."
"You mean you were treated like you were invisible or something?"
"Pretty much," he sighed as Berrynose came back, not noticing Lionblaze was nearby, hearing every word so he soon left to tell Jayfeather.
"Are you sure you never hunted in a forest before?!" Berrynose asked in surprise after dropping the load. "This is a lot!"
Maplestreak just shrugged casually as he picked up his first load and went back to camp with Blossomfall bounding up to chat with him more.
Berrynose just sighed. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"
He picked up the prey and followed them back to camp in time to hear Bramblestar say something that would get what was left of his tail in a knot if the leader wasn't his former mentor.
"Maplestreak I hear your battling and hunting skills are far beyond what we expect for someone who just arrived after many travels," he praised the golden tom who is now blushing. "For that you may now be respected as a warrior, which means you'll be moving out of the Apprentice's den and into the Warrior's den, as well as I'll let you come with us to the Gathering tonight!"
Maplestreak was surprised and happy to hear of this while Blossomfall and Lionblaze congratulated him and Berrynose looked stunned as he dropped the prey in disbelief.
"Maplestreak that's wonderful!" she exclaimed in joy. "I knew you would be with us warriors before long!"
"Th-thank you so much!" he replied, feeling quite proud of himself despite any slight embarrassment to the praise.
"I'll make the announcement to the Clan right away," the leader said with a smile and went to the Highledge and gave out the call which caused the Clan to gather around. "Cats of ThunderClan, I am pleased to mention that Maplestreak had showed great promise in his training that he not only will be treated as a warrior from now on, but he will joining the cats I choose for the Gathering tonight. I wish to congratulate him and I hope the warriors welcome their new den mate!"
The warriors started to congratulate and welcome the now blushing warrior, cheering out his name.
Bumblestripe suddenly jumped onto him in fun. "Nice work! I knew you would join us soon! You seemed 10 times the warrior that even that mouse-brained Berrynose is!"
Maplestreak smirked while leaping up to throw him off with ease, stunning him before he laughed as he shook the dust out of his fur. "And that proves it Maplestreak!"
The entire Clan laughed at that comment, lifting spirits for the rest of the day.
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Later that evening Maplestreak was waiting near the camp's entrance beside Bramblestar for the other cats the leader had chosen for the night's Gathering, but he did notice a worried look on the dark tabby's face.
"Is there something wrong Bramblestar?" he asked in concern and he looked at him.
"I'm worried about Onestar," he said simply and the Nation understood.
"If he does start something I'll make sure he understands that I wasn't to blame for the kit. Not many know this but I can tell someone off quite well. In fact I'll tell him off in front of all the Clans if I have to."
He said this with a reassuring smirk and Bramblestar laughed. "You can go ahead and do so! It'll probably help you in the long run if you have to help his Clan!"
He nodded as the rest of the cats arrived. The ones that were coming were Lionblaze, Cloudtail, Dovewing, Leafpool, a fellow warrior named Cinderheart, Lilypaw, a queen named Icewhisker, Purdy, and Jayfeather, leaving more than enough protection for the Camp. They soon left for the Gathering as the sun began to set, keeping close to the lake while crossing alongside WindClan Territory.
They didn't get too far when a small group of WindClan cats caught up and a brown tom that was Onestar stopped them. He glared at Maplestreak, who stood his ground and gave his own glare in return.
"So this is our so-called saviour," he said coolly, keeping his temper.
A younger brown tom with the scent of herbs in his fur walked up to him. "Onestar please don't start anything! I know Shadekit's death is still affecting us but I don't think ThunderClan is to blame! Especially since he was found near the horse place!"
"I'm not planning on blaming them this time, Kestrelflight. I'm just curious on how this one didn't help our kit but saved ThunderClan's."
"I don't think he knew at all until it was too late," Kestrelflight pressed on and Maplestreak decided to speak up.
"Your medicine cat is right. Even if I did know, I couldn't be at two, three, or even four places at once. I'm surprised you never thought of such a conclusion…but of course, you think more of yourself than your Clan."
Onestar's fur bristled at that comment but the Nation wasn't finished yet as he gave a firmer look and raised his voice a little. "In fact, I'm even more surprised that StarClan hasn't replaced you yet! You rely more on suspicion and rumour than seeking the truth, you shift all blame of whatever dark thing happens in your Clan to ThunderClan after everything Firestar had done for you in the past! In fact, Tallstar named you leader on his dying breath and this is how you thank him?!"
The other leader suddenly flinched at that fact as Maplestreak finished his lecture. "I'm surprised you lasted this long as leader but if you don't start smartening up by the time I come by your Clan to help strengthen it against the Dark Forest Cats, I have no doubt in my mind that your medicine cat will get a sign that says another cat should take over. Whether they're your deputy or not! Am I clear Onestar?"
Onestar swallowed as he nodded, not bothering to look at the smirks and snickers of victory that are on the ThunderClan cats, especially on Bramblestar who was also impressed on the new warrior's unexpected sharp tongue. *Looks like Berrynose needs to watch himself around Maplestreak. His tongue is sharper than his claws!*
Maplestreak saw that Crowfeather and Nightcloud also came along, and were secretly smirking behind their paws as he now felt satisfied enough to help take care of the bulk of the problem. He then calmly said, "Now then I think we should be going so ShadowClan and RiverClan won't think we're late."
Nervous of the cat he first started to hate, Onestar nodded and escorted ThunderClan to the island, keeping his distance of Maplestreak so he couldn't incur any more of his wrath. *And he seemed to be a more quiet cat at first! Oh StarClan was I wrong!*
Bramblestar soon whispered to his new warrior, "Hopefully this will help us get a peaceful Gathering for once. Well done Maplestreak!"
Maplestreak blushed from the praise as the two Clans crossed the tree-bridge that connected the mainland to the island. But he soon saw a young light brown WindClan queen, who seemed a few months pregnant, having a little trouble getting up onto the tree so he doubled back to pull her up. She looked at him in surprise but his gentle smile calmed her and she nodded in gratitude before crossing.
"Thanks for doing that," a WindClan tom with pale fur said after leaping up onto the bridge. "Heathertail tends to be a bit stubborn but she hasn't been this bad ever since something that happened between her and Lionblaze, then Breezepelt's betrayal and death. Her pain is so bad that she wouldn't let anyone help her, not even her own Clan mates…"
He shook his head in sadness. "Those are Breezepelt's kits she's expecting but she's scared he would kill one of them as revenge against her for being Lionblaze's friend a long time ago."
Maplestreak looked shocked at hearing this. Breezepelt has done more damage in death than he did when he lived! To his parents, his half-siblings, his Clan…and even to his own mate! No wonder why he's now a Dark Forest Cat; he feels no remorse for his actions just as Hollyleaf said!
"I'll see what I can do," he offered. "Thanks for telling me…err…"
"Rabbitpelt," the tom replied with a friendly smile, "My name is Rabbitpelt."
He smiled at his new friend. "Then you can call me Maplestreak."
Rabbitpelt nodded and they both caught up with the Clans as he soon said, "Looks like ShadowClan isn't here yet but there's still plenty of time."
Maplestreak can see he was right. There were cats there but they carried the still-unfamiliar RiverClan scent on them, considering they do live opposite the lake from ThunderClan. Unlike WindClan, they seem friendlier and calmer, especially the older blue-grey she-cat that was talking with Bramblestar about the incident from a few minutes ago.
"Oh my Bramblestar!" she said with a laugh as Onestar looked like he wanted to die right there from embarrassment. "Sounds like Maplestreak is a cat of many surprises! Since there's still some time before ShadowClan comes, may I meet him?"
"Of course Mistystar," the younger leader said politely before motioning the Nation over with his tail. "Maplestreak this is Mistystar, leader of RiverClan. Our old leader, Bluestar, was her mother but she grew up in RiverClan and now leads it. Her father was a proud RiverClan warrior named Oakheart."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mistystar," he replied with a polite dip of his head, shocking Onestar.
She gave an amused purr. "Well met Maplestreak. You certainly know your manners! Of course I'd rather not be on the wrong end of your sharp tongue!"
She glanced at Onestar at that comment and the other two toms chuckled at what she meant.
"Well to be honest," Maplestreak added sheepishly, "he got off lightly since I don't know him all that well. If I had known him for some time, I'll be telling him off for quite a while, listing his faults while I'm at it. I've already got a three-hour record on my brother Alfred, before my former guardian Arthur had to stop me from going on even longer."
Onestar was horrified at the sound of that until a strong ShadowClan scent went through the island. "Oh look! Blackstar and his Clan arrived!"
As if on cue, a large white tom with jet black paws jumped into the clearing, his Clan following. "Good evening Bramblestar, Mistystar, and Onestar. Hmm? Who is this tom with you?"
"Good evening Blackstar," Bramblestar replied. "This is Maplestreak, a travelling cat who was asked to help us heal by StarClan before the Dark Forest Cats strike again."
Maplestreak was about to answer when he suddenly saw Dovewing react angrily at a dark ShadowClan tabby tom that was attempting to apologize for something, and walked away feeling quite afraid of her. "Maple, what was that about?"
"Ah," Blackstar said looking only ever-so slightly guilty. "I think I should be to blame for that."
Onestar stiffened and tried to mouth "no" to him but he continued. "You see that warrior is named Tigerheart. He's Bramblestar's nephew since his sister, Tawnypelt, joined our Clan after being judged too much due to her father, Tigerstar. He and Dovewing were friends and I took it to my advantage to let him spy for the benefit of my Clan."
"And you didn't think of the long-term consequences," Maplestreak concluded, his shoulder fur beginning to bristle, catching Blackstar's attention and causing Onestar to cower back a fox-length away. "No wonder why Dovewing told him off like that! And Tigerheart must've felt torn between his loyalty to the Clan and what would happen if Dovewing found out!"
Both Dovewing and Tigerheart heard that statement as Blackstar gave a nervous twitch of his tail before Maplestreak finished. "Since you thought of that ridiculous plan, you can clean up the mess you made, like Tigerheart had been trying to do so himself!"
The older tom flinched at his tone and saw he had no choice so he went to do just that, especially after seeing Onestar look a little more afraid of the newcomer.
Maplestreak huffed in annoyance. "Mon dieu! Are a lot of the older warriors like that?! I feel like more of a kit-sitter than a helping warrior! Maple, they make my own brother look more like a saint!"
"At least they'll be thinking of their future actions more carefully from now on," Mistystar mused with a purr before looking up at the moon. "I think it's time to begin."
The other leaders nodded once Blackstar returned from cleaning up his mess, and they jumped up onto the branches of the Great Pine. That caught the attention of all the cats so they gathered around for the Gathering to begin, with Bumblestripe and Crowfeather sitting on either side of Maplestreak.
Much to the surprise of RiverClan and ShadowClan, Onestar made no challenges at all since he still was feeling the effects of being told off. Instead he just mentioned his Clan was investigating Shadekit's death and that there was new apprentices in the Clan. Blackstar opened his report with an apology to ThunderClan for the spy as a way of showing how sincere he was in cleaning up his mess, causing Maplestreak to nod in approval as he soon continued on to mention new kits in his Clan, despite the loss of Pebblekit.
Mistystar did mention the loss of Robinkit but brought better news as she motioned a light-brown she-cat with a brown band of fur around her neck to step forward. Her sky-blue eyes were twinkling in excitement as she waited for her leader to speak.
Mistystar's eyes shone with the pride of a mother as she began. "I'm proud to welcome Heathersecret here as a full-fledged warrior. She was once an orphaned kit to an abandoned kittypet that was killed by rogues. I decided it was best to take her into RiverClan since she had no home, and the Clan treated her with love and care. I soon took her in as my apprentice and now she had finished her training to earn her place among my warriors."
Heathersecret beamed in praise as the other warriors welcomed her. "I promise I'll do my best for RiverClan as a thank you for adopting me!"
Maplestreak smiled at that, thinking of France and England back at home who pretty much adopted him and his brother after their mother disappeared. But he was quickly brought out of those nostalgic thoughts as Bramblestar began to speak.
"Cats of all Clans, even though ThunderClan was spared in losing a kit, we do grieve for the kits that were lost. So to bring some hope to all of us I'd like to welcome a special cat who is among us tonight. You remember the sign of the unseen maple leaf your Medicine Cats had seen recently, correct?"
The other cats nodded and murmured in agreement before he continued. "The sign has come true at last! I'd like to welcome Maplestreak as a warrior among us! He's a travelling tom of many surprises and StarClan has sent him to help us all! If the other leaders agree, he will spend some time in each of your Clans to heal past wounds and strengthen you all in case the Dark Forest Cats strike again, for it is those pieces of crowfood that killed your kits as a message of fear!"
The other cats gasped in shock at this…apparently they never made the connection as quickly as ThunderClan did. Soon Maplestreak stepped forward, waiting to speak.
"Would you like to say a few words Maplestreak?" Blackstar asked and he nodded before the ShadowClan leader moved over on his branch, much to the surprise of all the cats gathered. "Then come up here so your voice can carry better."
Surprised and humbled by the gesture, he soon leapt up the tree and sat beside him, yet he got nervous since speaking to a single Clan was one thing, doing the same for a larger group of FOUR Clans was something else altogether. At the same time, the full moon began shining its gentle light on him, making his golden pelt and maple leaf pendant glow silver, as if StarClan themselves were giving him encouragement.
He calmed his nerves and began to speak. "Cats of all Clans…I do accept your welcome into each Clan like I have for ThunderClan and I do promise you the Dark Forest Cats will be stopped. But I can't do this alone, so I will need your help and support as I help each of you out. Once I'm finished in ThunderClan, I'll make my way to WindClan, then RiverClan, and lastly ShadowClan before returning to ThunderClan again. I admit I won't stay permanently, but long enough to drive those dark cats away with the strength of the four Clans here on Earth and StarClan in the heavens!"
Despite the quiet voice he had, all of the cats heard him and gave a caterwaul in agreement and welcome to this saviour. He felt relieved and humbled by this as he noticed Blackstar looking impressed at the corner of his eye, making him lightly blush.
As he leapt back down to the ground, Onestar looked up and said. "There is still enough time before we have to return to our camps so if you'd like to get to know Maplestreak more before he makes his rounds, now is the time. This Gathering is now over."
"You made a wonderful speech up there Maplestreak," Heathersecret said with a smile and he blushed deeper.
"I-I'm really not used to all of this attention really. I'm more used to being treated like I'm not there."
"Well whoever does that are a bunch of mouse-brains!" a ShadowClan tortoiseshell queen, who introduced herself as Bramblestar's sister Tawnypelt who left ThunderClan because she was compared to her father Tigerstar too much according to Graystripe's tales. "They won't be able to see the real you if they keep that up!"
"Well it can't be helped since my brother tends to outshine me. But I think I'll change that once I get back home."
"That's the spirit!" Cloudtail said with a smile as he walked by.
After a while of meeting cats, it was time to return to camp…but not before he was stopped by the other three leaders.
"The other two and I discussed if you'll be visiting our Clans and we all agree on it," Mistystar said with a smile and Maplestreak felt ecstatic.
"Thank you! I'll do what I can for each Clan!" he replied before saying his goodbyes and left with ThunderClan.
But he paused and looked back at Onestar and Blackstar, as if he was warning them to behave or else. Blackstar nodded as he got the message and Onestar crouched in fear as he nodded quickly. Feeling satisfied he soon went to catch up with the Clan.
When they got back to camp, he was so worn out and happy, he was out as soon as he hit the nest, not bothering to take off his pendant this time.
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He found himself back in StarClan's grove and saw other familiar faces. There was a brown male Austrian cat with violet eyes, a short curl sticking out of his head and a birthmark near his chin, a long-haired female Hungarian cat of a lighter shade with green eyes and flowers in her head fur, another male Italian cat like Italy but he was darker brown with green eyes and a scowl, and a coffee brown Spanish cat with a smile that also reflected in his emerald eyes. But before he could greet his fellow Nations, a silver-white blur tackled him and he looked up to the familiar ruby eyes that belonged to none other than Prussia, who also was wearing his Germanic Cross and had Gilbird landing on his head. An older former Medicine cat named Yellowfang laughed at this as well as Spottedleaf, Firestar, and Hollyleaf.
"Kesesese!" the albino chuckled. "Glad to see you're alright Birdie! You took forever getting here!"
Canada smirked as a single for Gilbird to fly off before kicking off his ex-Nation friend, surprising him as he scrambled to his paws. "Well I got back from a meeting with the other Clans that tends to run late!"
"At least you met other cats amigo!" Spain replied cheerfully and he nodded.
"How are things in the Clan?" Austria asked.
"Quite well despite some recent events," he replied with a calm swish of his tail. "I'm learning a lot of their ways."
"Like in fighting," Hungary said with a smirk as Prussia gave a glare. "Spottedleaf already filled us in on what your mission is!
Before Canada could reply, Romano said, "Hey why is the tea b****** here?"
"Roma~ watch your language around the younger cats!" Spain whined as the others did notice England suddenly arrive, looking quite guilty over something.
"C-Canada…now don't get too mad at me for what I'm about to tell you…" he started out nervously, shifting his paws and not wanting to look at his former colony at the moment.
Canada bent his head low to look at him in concern. "What's wrong England? Did you find out how the Dark Forest Cats came back?"
England shut his eyes and nodded before he took a deep breath then looked up. "I-I was studying my spell tomes and…well…it turns out…"
He trailed off until Romano snapped, "Well?! It turns out what?!"
"Alright it was my fault! I accidentally and unknowingly brought them back with the same spell I sent Canada here with!" he finally spat out and a stunned silence hung in the air.
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Author's Notes:
O.K first of all, I am SO sorry for the months of a hiatus! I was in an OCT, work got hectic, and other events came up so fast that my stories took an unfortunate back seat! But I'm done with the OCT, despite another one coming up, I took time between shifts, and I only have smaller events until October so I managed to at least get this done!
As you can see, Canada is now an official warrior and Onestar and Blackstar learned the hard way of striking a Canadian nerve in the wrong ways possible! (And yes the 3-hour rant DID happen! Just pick up Hetalia vol 2 and read the strip!)
Of course I introduced some other OCs in here so here's a brief info on them:
Rabbitpelt is a WindClan warrior who didn't agree with his Leader's attitude and he already agreed to be the father figure to Breezepelt's kits once they are born. He used to be friends with Breezepelt until Hollyleaf revealed the secret and things fell apart. He too doesn't grieve for the warrior because he could see that Breezepelt felt no remorse for the Moonpool incident.
Heathersecret is a RiverClan warrior of kittypet birth. But she was born not long after her mother was abandoned and she was the only one who survived in her litter. (She had 2 brothers and a sister but foxes got to them.) When a rogue killed her mother, Mistystar took pity on her, remembering the sacrificial love that Bluestar had for her and her late brother, so she took the kit in and the Clan raised her. Heathersecret also accepts the leader as a mother figure and is willing to fight tooth and claw for her Clan! (Just a note, the brown band on her neck is all fur, no collar at all.)
But what's this? England is the one responsible for the Dark Forest Cats' return?! Wonder how Canada will react? (I already have it planned out actually and let me tell you; it will be funny!)
Anywhoo I'll just leave the names of the Nations introduced, minus Prussia of course, and get to work on my other stories.
Austria-Roderich Eidelstein
Hungary-Elizabeta Hedervary
Spain-Antonio Fernandez Carriedo
Romano (South Italy)-Lovino Vargas
Enjoy, leave comments, and SOOOO sorry for the wait!
Warriors, characters, and concepts are © Erin Hunter
Hetalia, characters, and concepts are © Hidekaz Himaruya/Funimation
OCs and anything else is © me so DON'T STEAL OR ELSE!