Edited By: Cerise
The moon was high in the starry night sky. The group of DawnClan cats moved silently through the shallow sea waters. My first Gathering as a Warrior, Ivytail thought as she waded along at the back of the patrol. Further on, a small island came into sight. The cats glided towards the shore and clambered onto the sandy beach, shaking the water droplets out of their fur.
Dawnstar led the group towards a small clutter of trees on the mainland of the island. A miniature version of the forest back home. They soon arrived at Moonlight Clearing. It was not very big, just enough to accommodate the four Clans. A strong ray of moonlight flooded through the thin canopy, basking the open area in a silvery glow. The scene was breathtaking. Enchanted, Ivytail hardly felt her paws move forward. She had only been to the Gathering a couple of times and each time she had been shocked by the beauty of the place. It was only when she smelled the reeking scents of the other Clans did she return to reality.
Ivytail narrowed her eyes at the sight of WoodsClan. It had only been five sunrises ago when she and Darkstream had found the finch. When she informed Dawnstar, nearly the entire Clan went forth to investigate. But every cat had been baffled. There was hardly any scent, just a faint trace of one none could recognise surrounding the bird. Any other scents were entirely masked by the smell of DawnClan cats. The Clan was high on alert now - more patrols and every single Warrior on their guard. Dawnstar had came to the conclusion of some fox or badger killed the bird. Most of the cats were now worried about safety. But there were other rumors spreading.
Could it have been a rogue or loner? Or a WoodsClan cat? Ivytail was pretty sure that Dawnstar himself was not fully convinced that the fox-hearted WoodsClan thieves had not hunted on their land.
Ivytail sensed the tension boiling among her Clanmates as they filed into the Clearing and settled down. As if to soothe her, Darkstream whispered in Ivytail's ear, "Remember the truce." She nodded. Darkstream had not been acting very normally. He was constantly jumpy, startled at any small sound. It was as if he expected to be attacked at any moment. Of course though, this was how every Warrior was behaving now. Still, Darkstream was the only cat who went out hunting almost every night. Ivytail had caught him sometimes during her watch and he had given the same lame excuse.
Trying to forget all these ridiculous observations and problems. Ivytail focused on what the leaders have to say. The four Clan leaders were couched on four boulders of equal size in the very centre of the Clearing. Seastar, having seniority, started first.
"SeaClan is thriving well," she announced, "Recently, we have just named two new Warriors-Stormbrook and Lilypetal!" Cheers erupted from the gathered cats, mostly from SeaClan Warriors. "But," Seastar continued after the uproar had died down, "We have noticed something very strange. Five sunrises ago, our patrols noticed a strange scent. A cat scent," she paused, looking directly at Woodstar, "We also noticed the remains of uneaten fresh-kill in our forests."
A murmur spread among the gathered cats. SeaClan has the same problems as us? Ivytail thought, now that's strange! Her thoughts were broken by Woodstar's enraged screech, which drowned out all noises,"Are you accusing WoodsClan of stealing your prey!?!?"
The WoodsClan sprang to their feet, hissing and snarling at the cats of the other Clans. Within moments, the Clearing was filled with spitting and growling cats with their claws unsheathed. No! Ivytail thought, the truce!
"Look!" Suddenly, a yowl came from a SunClan Warrior, "StarClan is angry!" Heads snapped up, including Ivytail, who saw that a few clouds had drifted, half covering the magnificent full moon. Silence swept around the Clearing as cat's exchanged uneasy glances.
At that moment, Dawnstar spoke, "Please listen, Woodstar. Seastar is not accusing any cat. She is just worried for her Clan." He turned to face the gathered cats. "DawnClan has also met with this issue. We found the remains of a bird at Greenrocks. We suspect that this might be the work of the badger, or a fox. Perhaps even a loner or a rogue but we do not believe any Clan cat will do such a thing. No need to get so worked up."
Woodstar nodded slowly, still glaring at Seastar. The tension in the Clearing rolled off and cats relaxed, sitting down once again. "Otherwise," Dawnstar continued, "DawnClan is well. We have one new Warrior - Ivytail!" This time the cheers were half-hearted. Ivytail could not help being a bit disappointed, but at least Dawnstar's attempt to distract the Clans worked.
Dawnstar backed away as Sunstar stepped forward. "SunClan is well-fed and we have new cats. Tortoisefur had her first litter and we have a new apprentice- Beachpaw. He is not present currently." Sunstar nodded and gave way to Woodstar. "WoodsClan's prey is plentiful so we have no reason to steal." A couple of SeaClan cats hissed. "We have two new apprentices- Blackpaw and Violetpaw. That is all," Woodstar finished.
The Gathering was over quickly. Ivytail watched as the cats departed. "Don't we usually share tongues?" she asked Darkstream. "No in a time like this," the tom replied briskly and strode away after Dawnstar. Sighing, Ivytail followed after him.
Her disastrous first Gathering as a Warrior.
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