Rain and Stone

Prologue

Fear gripped at Duststar’s stomach as he led his patrol alongside the lakeshore through RiverClan territory. The full moon was high and bright that night; the sky undisturbed by clouds despite the recent storm that swept through. The Gathering would go on. There was no avoiding the news he would deliver in wake of the new prophecy.

A cool breeze blew over the lake, making the pale tom’s fur prickle. He tried to distract himself from the sickening feeling growing in his gut. Amber eyes turned towards the stars, glowing dimly in the light of the moon. He started to count them silently, slowly, sending a prayer to StarClan with each one he spied.

Movement out of the corner of his eyes made the leader glance to the right. “Sandnose,” he stated simply, anxiety making his voice rougher than normal. Duststar winced at his own harshness, but the medicine cat’s gaze did not falter as he matched the other tom’s pace. 

“Everything will be fine,” the younger tom whispered, and though his face was serious, Duststar could see the familiar warm light in Sandnose’s eyes.  “The skies are clear tonight; that is a favorable sign. Besides, you don’t want to worry the rest of the patrol…” He trailed off, falling back in line behind the leader. Though Sandnose’s words only echoed his own thoughts, it was nice to hear another cat vocalize them, and Duststar walked with his tail held higher than before.

In no time at all the WindClan cats were crossing the slick log bridge and had set foot on the rocky island. They gathered in silence as the second Clan to arrive. RiverClan sat on the opposite side of the clearing, sticking close together like a school of fish, refusing to mingle. It was then that Duststar knew that the Gathering wasn’t going to go as well as he and Sandnose had hoped, and he grit his teeth. 

With a powerful leap he took his place on the lower branches of the tree, sitting only a foxlength or two above the crowd. ThunderClan and ShadowClan arrived soon afterwards, and a low murmur rose from the crowd as the non-RiverClan cats began to share news amongst themselves and reunite with distant friends. When the leaders situated themselves into their respective positions, the second Gathering of Newleaf began.  It was the ThunderClan leader that began.

“ThunderClan has lost an apprentice in wake of the storm,” Kestrelstar began to Duststar’s right, his low rumbling voice silencing the crowd of cats below. “Smokepaw drowned in the river, which had been swollen from the recent rainfall. He will be missed.” The fluffy tom waited for the whispers to die down once more before continuing. “The prey is retuning from fleeing the storm. ThunderClan continues to flourish.”

After the brevity of the ThunderClan leader, Quailstar’s news was welcome, as it gave the WindClan leader more time to think. “The extra water in the marsh is draining back into the earth and the lake slowly. The apprentice and elder’s dens were destroyed, but have been rebuilt. ShadowClan’s prey is still running and we have fully recovered from the storm. We would also like to welcome two new warriors.” Her eyes settled on two younger cats in the crowd. “Acornpaw will now be known as Acornfoot, and Gingerpaw as Gingerheart.” A few cheers rose from the crowd to welcome the duo. It was clear after a brief moment of silence that Quailstar had finished and only two Clans were left to present. 

Duststar glanced at the small silver she-cat seated on the branch just above him, but Minnowstar’s bright amber eyes stared back. It could be that he was only imagining the gleam of a challenge in her eyes, but with her reputation as a troublemaker in her younger days, he doubted it. ‘The Gathering must go on,’ he thought to himself reluctantly. Perhaps it would be best to get it over with sooner rather than later.

He turned back to face the four Clans.  “WindClan has fully recovered from the storm,” the tom began, careful to introduce the more general news before riling everyone up. “There was little damage to our camp. We also have a new apprentice to introduce: Sandnose, our medicine cat, will be training Finchpaw.” Murmured greetings rippled throughout the crowd; Finchpaw did her best to hide behind her mentor.

This was it. Duststar resisted the temptation to dig his claws into the hard wood under his paws. “The Twolegplace and Horseplace that were abandoned three leaf-bares ago were destroyed early on by the storm. Twolegs came and dragged the remains away with large yellow monsters, and no trace of either remains.” The eyes of every cat were on him now. Duststar could sense Minnowstar learning towards him slightly; his fur prickled under her feigned interest. “And so WindClan will begin hunting-“

“Stop.” Minnowstar lightly leapt down from her branch onto Duststar’s, her long feathery tail flicking behind her. The WindClan leader felt his pelt beginning to bristle at this rude interruption. “RiverClan’s territory has flooded and the river nearly washed away the camp. The area cleared away by the twolegs is much drier, and we were planning on moving our-“

“The land is muddy, and several large stones from WindClan’s territory have slid down the moor and into the fields below.” Duststar cut the she-cat off. Minnowstar’s eyes narrowed to slits, but he continued hurriedly. “WindClan has taken that as a sign from StarClan that the territory belongs to us.”

She spun to face him, lips pulled back in a snarl. “How dare-“

“Enough.” Sandnose leapt to his feet, approaching the base of the tree where the leaders sat. Finchpaw, unsure of what to do, followed her mentor closely, though her eyes were focused on her paws. “StarClan has sent a prophecy.”

Every pair of ears pricked, straining to hear the WindClan medicine cat. Even Finchpaw managed to tear her gaze away from the ground to look up at her mentor. Sandnose’s eyes never left the four leaders gathered above. “If the stones wash away with the rain, blood will rise again.” Several gasps were heard; the RiverClan cats yowled their protests. The tom continued regardless. “Please, don’t let blood be spilled when there has been peace among the Clans.”

Minnowstar leapt once more, off of Duststar’s branch and onto the soft ground below. Her patrol parted as she padded between them, stopping just short of the edge of the clearing. She turned, her hardened stare falling on Duststar. “If WindClan wants blood, there will be blood. For we have heard nothing of such prophecy,” the leader spat, and with that, the RiverClan cats left the clearing.