The Rogue Traitor #1 - Beginning of the Curse

Chapter Eighteen

"Welcome everyone," said the sandy-coloured tom who stood next to Whiskerstar, "to the full-moon Gathering. To start off, prey has been running well in SummerClan and Sunlily has a healthy litter of four kits, Brightkit, Darkkit, Creamkit and Lilackit. A fox also came through our territory about a quarter moon ago, but our warriors were able to fight it off." He stepped back and dipped his head to the huge grey tom sitting to his left.

"Thank you Birchstar," he said in a deep rumbling voice, "WinterClan is thriving, with two new apprentices, Flakepaw and Blizzardpaw. We also have two new cats joining us, Breezesong and Cloverheart." He stepped back and dipped his head to the dark brown she-cat, who stepped forward and gazed over the assembled cats.

"Thank you Mountainstar," she said, "AutumnClan's prey has been running well. We also have three new warriors, Leafclaw, Dovesplash and Weaselstripe. And Whiskerstar, we encountered a family of badgers nearby with two cubs. They are near our shared border and though they have not bothered us yet, we are keeping an eye on them." She looked over to Whiskerstar and nodded her head to him and he nodded back, stepping forward.

"Thank you Deerstar," he said, holding her gaze before turning to face the gathered cats, "I know you are all wondering why I am here tonight. Maplestar is not dead, he in fact, is perfectly well. Except for the fact that he tried to kill one of our apprentices about a quarter moon ago." A gasp echoed through the Gathering Area and Birdpaw felt Dewpaw watching her. She forced herself to look at Whiskerstar as he continued.

"He has left the Clan to be leader of a dangerous group of rouges. My patrol fought them, and we won, only just. I am warning all of you gathered here today, if you see Maplestar and his rouges, stay well away until you have no choice but to fight them." Whispers and murmurs filled the Gathering Area, with most cats glancing over at SpringClan, their eyes wide. Birdpaw saw Whiskerstar give her an encouraging look before launching into the normal report of the last moon.

As the leader's jumped down from the large tree at the end of the gathering, a flash of light caught Birdpaw's attention, and she turned around to see a StarClan cat weaving his way through the crowd. He was black with white splashes and vibrant blue eyes. As the apprentice watched, he moved over to her mother, Moonflower, and put his tail on her back, even though she wouldn't be able to feel it. Another flash of light distracted Birdpaw from the tom and she turned to see a silver tabby she-cat. Then a tortoiseshell and white she-cat appeared, along with a ginger and white she-cat. More and more StarClan cats appeared, some nodded to the medicine cats, and others wove their way among the living cats to see their friends or family.

"Birdpaw," said Whiskerstar, somehow ending up beside his apprentice, "Birdpaw!" The apprentice pulled her eyes away from the ginger and white cat and looked up at her mentor. "Why don't you go mix with the other apprentices?" She shrugged and looked back at the StarClan cats still roaming the clearing.

"I don't really feel like it," she replied, "I am happy just staying here and watching everyone." Her mentor nodded before moving through the crowd to talk to a bunch of AutumnClan cats.

"You should talk to some of the other apprentices," came Dewpaw's voice and she jumped, forgetting he was there, turning around to looking him in his green eyes. "I will introduce you to some of them if you want." Knowing that yet again, he would continue to pester her, she very reluctantly nodded, following the cream tom through the crowd of spirit cats and living cats. Eventually they made their way to a group of apprentices about Dewpaw's age, and they greeted the two SpringClan cats with meows and waves of their tail.

"Hey Dewpaw," one of them said, a ginger tabby she-cat with white paws, "we were just discussing what your new leader, Whiskerstar, said. You know, the stuff about Maplestar attacking an apprentice." Birdpaw felt her heart pick up speed but she forced her fur to stay flat. She forced herself to stay calm and look like she didn't know anything.

"Can you tell us who it was?" inquired a spotted she-cat, leaning forward with interest sparking her eyes. The ginger tabby she-cat with the white paws shoved her and Dewpaw shot the apprentice a look and shook his head, but Birdpaw spoke before he could say anything.

"It was me," she said in a quiet voice, and the apprentice gasped.

"How did you heal from your wounds so quickly?" asked a black tom, who she recognised as Thunderpaw. The other two apprentices leaned forward, their eyes wide and sparking.

"We have good medicine cats in SpringClan," she replied, affection for Flowerstem (not so much Chiveleaf) warming her inside. The two medicine cats must have worked so hard to keep her alive, if the apprentice's wounds were as severe as she remembered.

"I couldn't imagine Birchstar doing something like that," said the ginger tabby she-cat looking up at where her leader had been sitting, "he is really nice."

"Why did he attack you?" asked the spotted she-cat and Birdpaw started to not like her, she just needed to keep to her own business. The tortoiseshell and white she-cat opened her mouth to come up with a really pathetic excuse but Dewpaw thankfully interrupted.

"We should go Birdpaw," he said, looking over to where Whiskerstar was gathering up his Clan, "Otherwise we will be left behind." She sent him a grateful look, not wanting to hear her own excuse that she would have had to have come up with. She dipped her head to the three apprentices, resisting the temptation to glare at the spotted she-cat, and moved off with Dewpaw towards Whiskerstar, who was waiting at the top of the Gathering Area. With a swish of his tail, the Clan moved off, shortly being followed by SummerClan.

The trip back home was uneventful, and Birdpaw liked it that way. It let her dwell in her own thoughts about what had happened at the Gathering. The cats who had been left at camp meow quiet greetings as the Gathering patrol slipped in through the camp barrier and into their dens. When Birdpaw sank into her nest, she felt her tense muscles relax and she slipped into a peaceful sleep that was not riddled with visions.