Moon 4 Gathering
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“Ish dish enough frefkill?” Nightflower muffled through two mice crammed into her mouth.
Darkstar chuckled. “Hey, you shouldn’t have your mouth full when speaking, Nightflower.”
She spits the mice out onto the ground. “Heh, sorry Dad.”
Still, he nodded affirmatively. “With Shimmersky’s fish and Gingerclaw’s bluejay, we should have enough food for the gathering.”
“Darkstar! Darkstar!” a large bundle of orange fur barreled towards the two cats, crashing into Nightflower.
She laughed. “What’s wrong, Tigerkit?”
The ball of fluff straightened himself out until he resembled a normal cat. “Applepaw’s being mean again. She snapped at Pebblekit!”
Darkstar sighed. “Acting out isn’t going to make me change my mind. I’ll have a talk with Blossomtail.”
“About what?” Nightflower asked.
“I decided to have Applepaw stay behind this Gathering. She’s been too irresponsible as of late.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” she probably also would have been sulking if she was left behind.
“You know, since I’m so helpful…” Tigerkit started.
“No Gatherings until you’re an apprentice.” Darkstar sighed.
—
The Gathering itself was just as bustling. The fresh kill was deposited atop the grates of the flaming barrel for the after-gathering feast. Nightflower still didn’t do well with fire, so she handed off her freshkill to Dawnpaw. She decided to meet up with Lynxpaw and Firepaw while Dawnpaw took care of the food.
Firepaw wasn’t hard to find. Her bright red fur was like a beacon, even among a sea of other ginger cats. She was sat with Lynxpaw, who looked very happy.
“What’s the occasion?” Nightflower asked as she padded over.
“My warrior ceremony!” Lynxpaw declared, the enthusiasm palpable in her voice. “I’m Lynxclaw now.”
Firepaw looked glum. “I wish. My mentor’s been ignoring my training… I’ll never be a warrior at this rate.”
Lynxclaw paused. “I’m sorry Firepaw. That sucks.”
“Ah… whatever. I think Smallcloud is just getting sick or something. I don’t know why he’s been ignoring me.”
“Oh… I can’t imagine how you must be feeling.” Nightflower said. Even Leopardcloud, stuck in the nursery, still made sure she kept up her training when she wasn’t able to be there.
A large silence fell over the Gathering. It was time to start; the first leader stepped to the front. This moon, it was Redstar.
“To start, Swampclan has been well. Our kits are well-fed, and will grow strong. Our apprentices, even more so.” Redstar stated simply, before stepping back.
“I heard that those kits born last moon were his.” Lynxclaw whispered to Nightflower. “Jaggedkit and Sharpkit, I think they’re named. Poor kits. Now they have to turn out evil with those names.”
Nightflower wasn’t so sure, but she wasn’t willing to be scolded for talking during the Gathering.
Next, Finchstar took the front.
“My son and his mate have had a litter of three healthy kits! We thank Starclan for them.” He showed an uncharacteristic amount of emotion, before frowning again. His tone was grave. “Unfortunately, one of our border patrols was ambushed by a coyote. One of our apprentices, Splinterpaw, did not make it. We ask other clans to increase their patrols and stay wary until the coyote has left our lands.”
Whispers carried over the crowd— uncertain, and somewhat panicked, before the Wanderers representative spoke up.
“It will not take long for the coyote to leave. The Twolegs will chase it out once they notice it. Remain alert, but calm, while on patrol.” the representative stepped back, allowing Badgerstar to step forward.
“We have two new warriors, as well as one new cleric apprentice.” he drawled, seemingly not caring. “Lynxclaw, Locustclaw, and Mitepaw.” He paused to allow the clans to cheer.
Nightflower made sure to cheer extra hard for her good friend, who seemed extremely flattered by all the attention. Firepaw, on the other hand, looked like her flames had been doused by a heavy rainfall.
After the noise had died down, he spoke again. “We grieve the loss of our beloved Seedwhisker, who succumbed to illness. May my son carry on his path of benevolence in Starclan, just as he did in life.” he bowed his head, ushering in a moment of silence.
Nightflower looked over at Starleaf. Her mother was close with Seedwhisker, right? He was one of the members of her prophecy journey. Her mother was huddled up with her Grangeclan friends, Dovelight and Pearlheart.
The silence was broken with a single exclamation.
“Seedwhisker!”
Now, every clan was looking at the three mollies. Pearlheart was staring at the faded outline of a tom, though Nightflower couldn’t pick out any of the details. He was glowing a bright blue, which certainly wasn’t a real pelt color. Was that… a Starclan cat?
“What’s she looking at?” Lynxclaw asked, confusion lacing her voice.
“You don’t see the glowing cat in front of her?” Nightflower said.
Firepaw shook her head. “She’s just staring at nothing.”
“Well, there’s a Starclan cat right in front of her!”
Nightflower quickly looked around. Badgerstar had his head in his paws, and Bonestripe looked shocked. Finchstar merely looked confused, and Redstar was simply annoyed.
Clouds began to crowd around the full moon, blotting out all but a small circle in the middle.
Darkstar took the front, interrupting the moment. “Starclan has spoken. The Gathering has ended for now.” he jumped down, gathering the clanmates.
Nightflower barely had a moment to say goodbye to her friends when she was pulled away with the rest of Crystalclan.
He padded over to Nightflower as they left the Gathering. “Your mother is staying behind.”
“What was that?” Nightflower asked her father.
“You could see it, couldn’t you? How well?” he dodged her question.
“But— well, yes. I could see the glowing blue cat. I couldn’t tell who it was though. Was he from Starclan?”
He nodded to her. “So not well. I see… yes, that glowing cat was a Starclan cat.”
“But why did that ghost appear?”
“To say goodbye.” Darkstar replied. “or maybe to give a warning. We won’t know until we ask your mother.”
“I guess that food will go to waste now…” she said absentmindedly.
“It won’t. Don’t worry about it.” he licked her forehead. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
As he walked away, Nightflower could only wonder what Starclan was thinking. Perhaps she’d ask her mother. Hopefully her mother was willing to share what she’d learned.
—
“Beware the jagged thorns of the lake, for they will sink into you like a lifeline.” Pearlheart repeated back to the other two.
“What could that mean?” Starleaf asked, worry in her eyes.
“I don’t know Leafy.” Pearlheart had a worried look on her face. “But he said the message was for you.”
Dovelight turned to Starleaf. “If you need extra warriors, Grangeclan will send them.”
Starleaf shook her head. “No. I will not put your clanmates in danger. We will handle this ourselves.”
Pearlheart pressed against Starleaf’s side, letting out a sad huff. “Be safe Leafy. Please.”
“I will, Pearlheart. I promise.” Starleaf spared one last look towards the spot where Seedwhisker supposedly stood, thoughts swirling with confusion and fear.
She turned and walked away.
