The Fire Prophecy/Book 1

Chapter 21

Cursedfire's eye looked down at his apprentice as they walked to Fourtree's. It was Blackpaw's first gathering and Cursedfire knew he had to stay close to him. He remembers how overwhelming his first gathering was. I hope he doesn't question why I am talking to Halfpelt.

The FireClan cats finally got to Fourtree's, seeing Frozenclan already there. Cursedfire sighed, walking down the slope. Emberstar nodded to him before walking over to Froststar. Froststar was a fierce leader, but he had a happy side that made others judge him. The other clans would say he was too cheerful, but in reality, he is one of the smartest leaders. Cursedfire looked over as he scented TreeClan. He noticed Leafclan right behind them. Cursedfire looked down at Blackpaw as the young apprentice pushed himself against his mentor.

"It will be alright, they won't break the truce and cause a fight. You'll get used to so many cats." Cursedfire meowed, licking Blackpaw's ear.

"Okay...if you say so, Cursedfire," Blackpaw grunted, moving back a little.

Cursedfire chuckled and his ears went up as he saw Moonclan. His one eye glanced at every cat coming down the slope, but he could not see Halfpelt anywhere. As the Moonclan cats passed him, Cursedfire spotted Snowpelt. Snowpelt glared at Cursedfire, his eyes piercing through him. Tigerstar looked over, looking at Cursedfire. Hatred flashed in both their eyes and Cursedfire looked to the ground. What if he's keeping Halfpelt at the camp, threatening to hurt her? I can't let that happen.

"Cursedfire, are you alright?" Blackpaw asked, looking up at his mentor.

Cursedfire nodded, sitting down. He looked up at the five leaders as they stepped onto the great rock. Cursedfire dug his claws into the ground, glaring at Tigerstar. Petalstar stepped forward, yowling the signal for the gathering to start. She waited for all the clan cats to go quiet.

"Leafclan is thriving and ready for Leaf-bare's harsh weather. I hope the rest of the clans are also ready. I also believe the Sharptooth is finally gone. My warriors found the scent marker going out of our territory towards the Silverpath. So it is no longer a threat. I do thank Fireclan again for warning us about it." Petalstar bowed her head to Emberstar and stepped back, Froststar stepped forward after her.

"I'm glad to hear it's left, that makes our life easier. Frozenclan is doing very well, we even have a new apprentice, Snowpaw." Froststar exclaimed, looking down at the white apprentice known as Snowpaw.

Tigerstar grunted, stepping forward. "Everything is well in Moonclan, we have kits coming along in a few moons, however."

Halfpelt! He doesn't want to cause another fight at a gathering. He's keeping quiet about me and Halfpelt. Tigerstar looked down at Cursedfire, holding back his angry remarks. The large leader sniffed, stepping back, and letting Oakstar step forward.

"Treeclan, also, has kits on the way. We also have a new warrior, Falconwing." Oakstar meowed proudly, looking down at the young warrior, listening to the other clans as they yowled his name.

"I'm glad every cat is doing alright when it is so close to Leaf-bare. My clan is also thriving, however, we lost an elder. Patchfoot, a cat who had her whole life still ahead of her. We will miss her dearly, but this loss doesn't make Fireclan weak. We have many strong and brave warriors ready to fight at any moment." Emberstar glanced at Tigerstar, growling.

"Did Emberstar threaten Tigerstar?" Blackpaw asked as they walked over to their clanmates.

"Maybe he did, but he was telling the truth. Our clan is large and powerful, we won't fall by any clan," commented Charcoalwing as he walked passed.

Cursedfire growled and kept walking, Blackpaw at his side. Emberstar looked at his son, but the gray warrior just shook his head. Emberstar sighed and nodded, running back to camp with his clanmates behind him. They quickly got back to camp, Emberstar jumping onto Water Rock.