Bloodflower

Chapter 6

"Who would speak first?" Adderstar prompted, sitting back down on his branch. Dawnpaw's gaze flicked over each of the three other cats seated in the Moontree.

"I will speak for MoonClan first," a she-cat's voice mewed. On the branch above Adderstar, a cat stepped out of the shadows. This was the cat Dawnpaw had trouble seeing earlier. Her fur was dark blue-gray, and her eyes were a deep, dark blue that reflected the starry night beautifully. Dawnpaw was struck by how confident and graceful she appeared.

"That's Juniperstar," Grayleaf breathed in her ear.

Dawnpaw nodded, noticing how her coat resembled a ripe juniper berry.

"Our Clan is thriving," Juniperstar reported. "Three healthy kits, two she-kits and a tom-kit, were born to Spotheart not long ago. And we have a new warrior with us tonight, Snakeclaw."

Dawnpaw saw one cat, a bulky tom with a dark tabby pelt, raise his head proudly. She could see the muscles under his fur. I wouldn't want to face him in a battle, she thought as all four Clans congratulated him, MoonClan in particular.

Juniperstar nodded, concluding her turn to speak, and melted back into the darkness as smoothly as she had appeared.

The next leader to speak was a lithe gray tom with white freckles and bright green eyes. His pelt was sleek and glossy; Dawnpaw guessed he was the leader of WaterClan.

"Troutstar," Grayleaf murmured.

"WaterClan is thriving as well," Troutstar meowed. "Three kits have become apprentices, and they are with us tonight. Willowpaw, Gorsepaw, and Duskpaw."

Wow. That's a lot of apprentices all at once!

Dawnpaw could not see the young cats in the crowd, but she cheered their names nonetheless. With a jolt she realized that Adderstar would announce that she and Rosepaw were apprentices too.

Troutstar stepped back and looked expectantly at the two remaining leaders. Adderstar shook his head, leaving the other cat to step forward. It was a pale ginger tabby she-cat, and her flame-colored eyes were slanted. Dawnpaw thought she looked fierce. A suitable leader for FireClan!

"That would be Amberstar," Grayleaf said.

"One of our warriors, Mouseclaw, is now expecting kits and has moved to the nursery," Amberstar reported.

Dawnpaw heard a cat mutter behind her. "Those kits will be born just before leaf-bare. Not a good time for kits. I hope they make it."

She twisted her head to see Leafstripe gazing worriedly up at the FireClan leader.

If Amberstar had heard Leafstripe, she gave nothing away. Her eyes raked over the throng of cats below. I bet she knows as well as the rest of us that the kits will be born at a bad time, Dawnpaw thought grimly. She's daring us to say something about it.

No cat spoke, and Amberstar nodded with a grunt. She glanced at Adderstar, the only remaining leader to speak, and stepped back on her branch in the Moontree.

Adderstar leaned forward and meowed, "I have a warning for the other Clans. We have found prey-stealing rogues on the edge of our territory, near the Twolegplace."

A shocked gasp rippled through the crowd. One cat called, "How long have they been stealing prey?"

"It's hard to tell," Adderstar growled. "One of our warriors found their scent a few days ago. Forestfire, would you mind telling us what exactly you found?"

Dawnpaw caught a glimpse of Forestfire's orange head raised above the other cats.

"I was on a border patrol at the Twolegplace border," she began. "I broke off from the rest of the patrol, and I found a clearing full of scattered prey remains. The place reeked of a cat scent I've never smelled before, certainly not Clan or kittypet."