Chapter 2

Moonpaw opened her eyes, surprised by the bright sunlight pouring into the den. She sat up, glancing around in confusion, until she realized where she was. I’m in Dawnberry’s den.

The cream-colored she-cat pushed her way through the bramble screen, blinking at Moonpaw as she entered the den. “Hi, Moonpaw. How was your sleep?”

Moonpaw ducked her head, embarrassed. Stop caring so much about me! “It was fine,” she replied. “And I feel fine. Can I join the training session with Leafpaw this morning?”

“Well, how do you feel?” Dawnberry asked. “Does your throat still hurt?”

Moonpaw shook her head. “Barely.”

Dawnberry hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, you can continue training. But come check in with me if—”

“Okay!” Moonpaw yowled happily. She didn’t care about whatever Dawnberry was going to say. “Thank you!” She scrambled out of her nest and raced out of the den.

The trees sparkled in the sunlight. The air smelled of fresh prey. Moonpaw looked around and saw Flowerpetal, Hazelfur, Snowpelt, and Mintleaf padding toward the fresh-kill pile, their jaws full of prey. The prey must be out on a bright sunny day like this, she mused. I’ll catch a lot of prey today! She watched as Flowerpetal and Hazelfur tottered off to the warriors’ den. They must be close to joining the elders.

Moonpaw glanced sadly at the empty elders’ den. After the death of Branchfeather, the Clan had been left with no elders. The thought of Flowerpetal and Hazelfur resting in the den made Moonpaw’s pads tingle with excitement. It will be nice to hear stories and care for—

“Moonpaw!”

Moonpaw turned at Cindertail’s call and saw the gray she-cat racing toward her. “Hi, Cindertail,” she meowed as her mentor skidded to a halt beside her.

“Would you like to go to the Gathering?” Cindertail asked eagerly.

“Yes, of course! I’d love to.” Moonpaw nodded emphatically.

“And Leafpaw and Lightningpaw and Sparkpaw?” Cindertail pressed.

Moonpaw hesitated. Leafpaw and Sparkpaw were okay, but Lightningpaw. . . . Lightningpaw always messes things up! she thought. She could say something terrible about me in front of other apprentices. Like almost drowning last night. But after hearing her concern for her the other night, Moonpaw couldn’t decide.

Cindertail was still looking at her, waiting for an answer. “Well?” she meowed. “Don’t you want to go with your friends?”

I want to go with my littermate. “Yes,” Moonpaw responded, trying to keep her voice from sagging.

Cindertail whisked her tail. “Good,” she purred. “This could be your last Gathering as an apprentice. You should enjoy it.”

Moonpaw’s heart beat faster. My last Gathering as an apprentice. I’m going to be a warrior!

 

Moonpaw padded beside her brother, shivering as a cold wind hit her fur. A full moon glowed up above as if it were happy for her and Leafpaw.

“I can’t believe we’ll be warriors the next Gathering,” the tortoiseshell tom murmured. “I bet I’ll catch more prey than you on our assessment!”

Moonpaw shook her head. “No, I’ll catch more prey than you.” She nudged him teasingly. “You know I’m a better hunter than you!”

Leafpaw nudged her back. “No, you’re not! I’m the best hunter in the Clan!”

Cindertail, who was walking with Berryheart in front of them, glanced back. “Stop bickering. We’re almost at the tree-bridge. Don’t blame anyone if you fall in!”

Leafpaw rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t planning to fall in!” he muttered crossly.

Moonpaw nudged him again. “Listen to her!”

“I am!” Leafpaw shot back. “I’ve got ears!”

“Be quiet!” Cindertail snapped. Moonpaw nearly crashed into her mentor as the gray she-cat stopped at the edge of the tree-bridge. “I’m serious!”

Moonpaw flicked her tail across her brother’s ears and followed Cindertail across the fallen tree to the island. As she pushed through the long grass, she realized the other Clans were already there. Her pelt prickled nervously. Had they been waiting for long?

As Moonpaw’s Clanmates settled in, Birchstar let out a yowl. “ThunderClan is here! Let the Gathering begin!” The clearing fell silent. “I’ll begin—” Birchstar went on.

“I’ll begin,” Whitestar snarled, pushing her way past the SkyClan leader to the front of the branch. “Rogues have settled into our territory,” she continued, “like I’ve mentioned last time. We should do something! Those mange-pelts won’t leave if we sit here washing our bellies all day!”

“We know, Whitestar,” Lightstar interrupted. “But we need to first make a plan, and see what these rogues are—”

“A plan!” Whitestar hissed. “There is only one plan! We drive them out!”

“How many of them are there?” Nightstar cut in.

Whitestar glared at her. “Who cares?” she spat. “The result will always be the same, big group or small group.”

Nightstar stared back at him calmly. Moonpaw admired her leader’s courage. “We need to figure out how many warriors we should send into battle.”

Whitestar blinked, her pelt smoothing a little. Good! Moonpaw thought happily. She finally understood every other leaders’ concerns! “We don’t know,” the WindClan leader meowed. “The numbers keep growing.”

Nightstar exchanged a glance with Lightstar and Fishstar. “This is really going to be a problem, then,” she meowed.

“As I said,” Whitestar muttered, turning away.

Birchstar stepped forward. “Then we shall discuss this three nights from now,” he decided. “For now, let’s continue with the Gathering. I have something I want to announce. Firepaw recently became Fireclaw.”

“Fireclaw!”

Moonpaw realized that the exclaims of congratulations weren’t as enthusiastic as they had been when she had attended her first Gathering. She blinked. Is it going to be like this when I’m a warrior? Or worse?

She felt Leafpaw nudge her. “Fireclaw was apprenticed about the same time as us,” he whispered in her ear. “That must mean we really are going to become warriors soon!”

Moonpaw barely heard him. She glanced toward the WindClan cats. They were all tense, as if they expected an enemy to fly out of the bushes and attack them. Nightflame had a long gash on her side. Whitepaw was keeping one paw off the ground as if it were injured, and Squirreldash’s tail hung limply behind him.

As the leaders finished their reports, Moonpaw felt a chill run down her spine.

Will we all be destroyed by rogues?