#talonshade

Howlburr paused to mark some stones near the delta before effortlessly climbing up them, signaling with his tail for the apprentice to follow. Kicking sand with his hindpaws, Talonpaw scrambled up the rocks after his mentor and found him lying leisurely on top of the rocks, facing the water, taking a quick bath. 

“You know Talonpaw,” said Howlburr, licking his front leg. “I’ve run out of things to teach you.”

Those words made Talonpaw bristle with excitement, and he moved closer to the grey warrior, eyes wide. “Really? So, does that mean…”

“Yes,” his mentor purred in amusement. “In fact, you would have had your ceremony by now, but the storm threw our plans off. It’ll happen soon, though. I’ve been talking to Cinderstar.”

“Oh, so Cinderstar thinks I’m ready?” Talonpaw must not have hid his true feelings well enough in his voice, because Howlburr’s expression and tone shifted, and he moved closer. Talonpaw could feel his slim, sleek tail drape over his back.

“I actually thought of one more test for you.” Howlburr said, his voice barely above a whisper.  “What do you think of Cinderstar?” 

Talonpaw froze a bit, eyes scanning his mentor's face. He felt his fur begin to bristle, and the tip of Howlburr’s tail flicked over his hackles. “What do you mean? He’s our leader. I don’t…I wouldn’t betray him or our Clan or anything!”

“That’s not what I asked you.” Howlburr said coolly. “What do you think of Cinderstar? You can be honest. You’re nearly a warrior now, I want to hear your opinion.”

Talonpaw swallowed, trying to calm down as Howlburr clarified himself. “I think… I think Cinderstar is a strange choice for a leader.” he admitted, “Cinderstar was always the kind of cat to be too concerned with what others think about him.”

He felt dirty saying something negative about his leader, even with his mentor’s prompting. But to his surprise, Howlburr just nodded and even let out a low, contented purr.

“I can understand that.” the warrior said, leaning over to groom and speak directly into Talonpaw’s fluffy ears. “I wasn’t doubting your loyalty, my apprentice. I know you’re a true warrior. You’ve passed that test. You’ll need to be comfortable speaking with your senior warriors and discussing your true opinions with them.”

Talonpaw nodded, feeling relieved that he wouldn’t face any sort of retribution for his shred of doubt in their leader.

“However,” Howlburr continued. “When and where is also important. I wanted to talk to you about this on the shoreline. Up here on the rocks, with the waves hitting the bottom, so any cats passing by will only hear the roar of the ocean, which’ll keep the secrets it hears..”

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.