Toadnettle made himself small, recoiling at his words and rejection. "You're right-" he stammered, unable to reach Gullstar's gaze. "I-- I just thought that maybe--"

The medicine cat was cut off but Gullstar's angry hiss. The leader narrowed his eyes and stepped closer toward him. Toadnettle's heart was threatening to pound through his ribcage. He knew there was a risk of rejection, sure. But perhaps he just never considered that the aggression, coolness, and honour of StarClan that made him love Gullstar in the first place was the very reason they would never be together.

"You didn't think at all." Gullstar growled at him, echoing Toadnettle's thoughts. "Leave. Get out of my den, and go to your healer's gathering. Perhaps StarClan can talk some sense into you. "

"Right!" the medicine cat yelped. Toadnettle scrambled out of the den, the adrenaline and humiliation burning in his stomach. His heartbeat drowned out every other sound in the forest as he ran toward the Moonsprings.

Spidershade brushed past the ferns that guarded the Moonsprings and was greeted by the familiar sight and somewhat garlicky scent of Asterleaf, but her friend seem concerned.

"Oh, thank StarClan you're here, Spidershade!" Asterleaf mewled, licking her head in greeting. They peered over her shoulder, and pulled back, the worried expression coming back to their face.

"Toadnettle isn't with you?"

"No, why would he be?"

There was a brief pause as Spidershade assessed the situation. Nearly always she was the last to arrive to the Half-Moon Gathering on account of FogClan's territory being furthest away.

"Perhaps he's just running late." Asterleaf said quietly, staring into the ferns.

"Right. Lets wait for him a bit longer."

And the two medicine cats waited, huddled together by the Moonsprings. They remained as quiet as warriors on vigil as they listened for their third, with only the sound breaking their silence being the gentle trickling of the water. The moon gently drifted through the sky and Spidershade was growing more and more nervous.

"I'm sorry Asterleaf, I can't wait for him any longer." she said, standing up slowly to face her Moonpool. "I'm afraid we'll have to commune with StarClan now, before the moon passes the treeline. We can go to SnagClan to check on him later."

"R-right..." Asterleaf pinned their ears back, hesitantly heading toward their pool. "Hopefully he's just sick with a Leaf-fall greencough or something..."

As a warrior, he found them so crowded and noisy. But now, as a leader, his main concern was the piddling number of warriors he was leading up the hill to blazing Firetree. He flicked his ears in annoyance, reliving the humiliation he felt under the pitying gaze of Skystar during his first moon as leader, when he announced the casualties of the Great Storm. 

He was always trained to not show weakness at these Gatherings, and now he was leading a weak Clan into one. A weak Clan with a weak leader… a proper Clan has more warriors than this, I should be paralyzed by choice when it comes to selecting who to bring to a Gathering and not be so concerned if there’s enough back at camp to watch the kits… 

Cinderstar shook his head to clear his mind and ignored Roseflight’s concerned gaze as he signaled for his warriors to exit the undergrowth and enter the sandy clearing under the Firetree. He felt his Clanmates' pelts brush against his as they walked past him toward the clearing to mingle with their friends and rivals, and quickly the feeling was replaced with the eyes of the other leaders.

Was it awkward for Palestar as well?

He tried not to let his nerves get the best of him. He had a duty, and a script to follow in his mind. These things are just formalities, no need to be concerned. But still, as he jumped up onto the Highrock to take his place next to the other leaders, he couldn’t help but notice how much older and more experienced they were than him. In fact, both of them were leaders ever since he was born. It was difficult to wrap his mind around being their equals now.

Gullstar was the first to acknowledge him, though subtly. The senior tom nodded his head respectfully, and twitched a dusty-brown ear. Cinderstar still couldn’t bring himself to trust that icy-white gaze; the kit-stories of SnagClan’s fearsome and aggressive warriors still in the back of his mind… Whenever Gullstar looked at you, it felt like he was looking for weakness. And StarClan knows that FogClan isn’t the strongest it’s ever been.

Skystar was next, turning her head to him and nodding in greeting. Cinderstar’s stomach turned. The pity in those ocean blue eyes was still present. Skystar feeling sorry for him felt worse than the calculating stares of the SnagClan leader.

“Would you like to go first?” Skystar mewed softly, nudging Cinderstar. “Hoping to hear good news from you.”

“Ah, I’m afraid I don’t have much to say,” confessed Cinderstar. And he really didn’t.

Skystar chuckled a little, “No news is good news, they say. I’ll go then, if you two don’t mind?”

“Please do.” Gullstar meowed, his eyes focused on the gaggle of cats underneath them.

Skystar started the Gathering with a yowl, and Cinderstar straightened his posture, curling his fluffy black tail over his paws. It still was a strange feeling to have so many cats gathered beneath him, gazing up toward him. Dozens of eyes reflected the lights of the moon, stars, and Firetree back toward Cinderstar and he felt his voice catch in his throat. Thank StarClan that Skystar decided to speak first.

“The forest has finally dried up, and prey is starting to run normally again. Over this past moon, OnionClan has welcomed three new apprentices. Those would be my kits, Sunpaw, Bluepaw, and Ravenpaw.”

Skystar’s kits! Cinderstar had nearly forgotten. He looked around for the new apprentices, and they were easy to spot. A trio of grey and white kits huddled together, who all looked strikingly like Skystar, especially her daughter. To think that Skystar was leading her Clan from the nursery for a few moons, it was just astounding to Cinderstar. She had moved out of the nursery a while before the storm, but it was still incredible to him that Skystar had the strength to lead her Clan while dealing with pregnancy and all that comes after. 

Perhaps that strength she possesses is why she pities me for lacking it so much?

Skystar had sat back down, and Gullstar nodded toward Cinderstar, clearly wishing to speak last himself. Or maybe testing him, making fun of him since he stuttered at the first Gathering he went to as leader– No, just breathe, and speak.

“Prey is still running well in FogClan.” said Cinderstar smoothly. “There’s been less twoleg scent along the shores lately as Greenleaf draws to a close. The apprentices are doing well on their training. As long as they continue to make us proud–and I’m sure they will–I’ll have a new name to share with you at the next Gathering.”

In front of the Highrock, he could see Talonshade’s eyes gleaming with interest, likely trying to figure out which of his former peers would be joining him in the warrior’s den soon…

Gullstar stood up to speak next, twitching his long dusty ears. “Badgers have infiltrated our lands. We are driving them out, but the competition for prey and territory has been difficult on our growing Clan.” the SnagClan leader meowed cooly. Cinderstar bristled a bit at the comment on his Clan’s numbers, but noticed that Skystar’s eyes narrowed as well.

“Driving them out to where?!” yowled a sleek, silver OnionClan cat. 

Cindestar recognized the bristling smoky tom as Cindersmoke, a warrior around his age he always found agreeable. It was rare to see him so riled up at a Gathering. Twitching his whiskers, Cinderstar leaned down to listen closer to the aggravated crowd of cats.

“Off of my territory. Where the badgers go next is not SnagClan’s concern.” spat Gullstar, tail thrashing. He turned his ice-blue eyes to Skystar and continued speaking. “If OnionClan has a badger problem, I wouldn't be aware.”

Cinderstar’s eyes widened as he noticed thick clouds rolling in on the horizon as Gullstar spoke. The crowd of clan cats were growing more and more agitated, Onion and SnagClan warriors glaring at each other with their hackles raised.

“There’s no badger problem in our territory, Gullstar.” growled Skystar, ears twitching in annoyance. “One of our warriors is in the medicine den from a badger wound, but she’s nearly recovered, thanks to Asterleaf’s skillful paws.”

The admission of an injured warrior seemed like it should be an effective way to cool the conversation down, but the clouds grew closer and closer, and Cinderstar started bristling. 

“I suspect our warrior is concerned for their Clanmate,” Skystar continued, eyes narrowing into slits. “As the badger was making its den near the SnagClan border.”

Gullstar hissed at the accusation, his claws unsheathing and scraping into the cracks of the Highrock. “And you think we put it there?!” 

The Gathering grew dim, leaving only the artificial glow of the Firetree above them and Skystar bowed her head. “StarClan has voiced their displeasure. This Gathering is over.” she yowled out to the murmuring crowd.

The elder leaders leapt off the stone, leaving Cinderstar in disbelief. The thick clouds blotted out the moon’s light, and vast swaths of stars were obscured.

Plumpaw twitched her ears, huffing at the healers comment. "What's that supposed to mean? It's only me in here after all."

"Well, Lilystream's been dropping by for mallow for her stomach ache-"

"Her stomach ache!" Plumpaw spat, almost laughing. "Some warrior she is! Literally belly-aching, meanwhile I nearly get mauled by a dog..."

Spidershade just sighed, laying a new layer of marigold over the wound. Thankfully, it was a pretty superficial wound, unlikely to even scar. Hopefully the healing process will be as quick as Spidershade expected. She wasn't exactly keen on sharing her den with Plumpaw for very long. "You were very lucky." Spidershade said once her mouth was free, opting for diplomacy.

"Now," she continued, "I need you to rest here. Don't move that foot excessively. I'll be back by sunset to change the dressing."

"Back by sunset? Where are you going?" Plumpaw asked, heather blue eyes wide with shock. Was it really that surprising that medicine cats have things to do?

"I'm going to SnagClan. Toadnettle, their medicine cat, died without an apprentice. I'm going to assist in training whoever Gullstar chose to replace him."

"Oh. I don't know why you have to do that though. It's not like SnagClan is your responsibility, right?"

Spidershade bristled. The audacity of this kit! "Relations with other medicine cats and StarClan is my responsibility." she spat, flicking her crooked tail in annoyance as she left the den.

Two young SnagClan warriors, Deerspur and Willowmist, met Spidershade at the border and graciously offered to lead her back to camp.

Surprisingly, the two warriors were quite open about the ongoings in the camp since Toadnettle's sudden demise. Spidershade nodded, listening to the younger cats speak about who was in the medicine den and for what, as they led her through their forest of dead trees. Leaf-litter crunched under her paws, muffled by the thick layer of lichen that covered the ground between the sun-bleached spikes of long-dead trees.

"Did Gullstar select a new medicine cat?" Spidershade asked. Willowmist seemed delighted by this question, and with the pride radiating off of her, Spidershade almost thought it was her that was assigned the role.

"I heard Gullstar wants to see if my brother will take on the role!" she mewed. "I certainly hope so. He's always felt like he doesn't contribute to the Clan."

"Aw, poor Wolfpatch." Deerspur frowned, flicking his long grey ears. "I think it'd be good for him!" Wolfpatch. Spidershade had heard that name before. "Oh, yes. Toadnettle mentioned him a few moons ago, and was going to ask if he wanted to train him, but couldn't quite convince him. Tom with the twisted back leg, right?"

"Yes!"

Willowmist and Deerspur exchanged excited glances as they led Spidershade into a moss covered tunnel. They were growing closer to the SnagClan camp.

"I promise it wouldn't hurt his ability!" Willowmist added urgently. She was speaking rather quickly with her excitement. "Only thing is he can't really jump straight, but that can't be important right?"

Spidershade couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my, no. It's never stopped me, anyway" she swished her crooked tail for emphasis.

The scent of SnagClan cats grew thicker and Spidershade started getting nervous. Of course medicine cats have a level of diplomatic immunity, but it always felt like an intrusion to enter another clan's camp like this.

Gullstar was quick to greet her, and Spidershade nearly gasped out loud when she saw him. The dusty brown and white tom looked haggard, his usually ice cold blue eyes were sullen with grief and stress.

"Thank StarClan you came, Spidershade. Wolfpatch and I have been doing our best in Toadnettle's place," Gullstar's ears flicked uncomfortably, and he squared himself up a bit taller. It must be awkward to admit weakness to a figurehead of a rival, even if she was just a medicine cat. "I think you'll also see promise in young Wolfpatch. He just needs a gentler paw and different knowledge base than I possess."

Gullstar lead Spidershade across the grotto, and into a sheltered lichen covered tunnel. As she touched her nose to the lichen curtain to enter, she could smell Toadnettle's scent caught in the wispy green fibers. She opened her mouth to fully take in the scent of her old friend and cement it into her memory. Either she didn't take too long, or Gullstar was gracious enough to not comment when she finally entered.

The SnagClan leader was sat next to a young grey and white tom she never met before. He was small, and one of his hind legs was twisted in an awkward position, so that part of his paw pad faced upward. Spidershade did her best not to stare, and tucked her mangled tail over her paws in some attempt of showing solidarity.

"Wolfpatch, this is Spidershade, I've asked her to assist in teaching you." Gullstar tipped his head toward her, and Spidershade dipped her head politely in greeting.

Wolfpatch seemed nervous, kneading his forepaws into the pine needle bedding of the den. She could hardly blame him. "Nice to meet you." he eventually mewled out, and Gullstar nodded in approval before continuing.

"In the past few nights, wolves have been in my dreams. Aside from this, though I have no confirmed sign from StarClan for Wolfpatch to be medicine cat." Wolfpatch flinched a bit, glancing down at his paws. Gullstar kept speaking. "However, his intuition is incredible. He directed his mother to our Clan's border, and she and the rest of the family are fine warriors."

Spidershade nodded. "I'd say the dreams are a sign enough. Recurring especially." Gullstar seemed happy to have a medicine cat weigh in on it, but Wolfpatch still seemed nervous.

"I figured as such." Gullstar purred. "Wolfpatch, I knew your destiny wasn't a lifetime in the elder's den."