Midnight

Chapter 3

"What was that mouse-brain thinking?" Cloudpaw hissed. He had just come back from training to see his sister spreading moss out in the clearing for the elders, mixing feathers and ferns to soften the nests.

His brother, Swiftpaw, sat next to him with Leafpaw. "Squirrelpaw always was the most bold of us, and we all heard what she told Dustpelt," Swiftpaw commented. "She probably just felt underappreciated, especially with Brambletuft always bugging her."

"It's not all Brambletuft's fault," Leafpaw put in, always the mediator in their conversations.

"I know it isn't," Swiftpaw replied, "but you can't deny that he does always have something to say about Squirrelpaw. Not even Dustpelt finds as many faults as he does."

"He's a bully is what he is," Cloudpaw growled.

A loud hiss sounded from outside the elders' den and all three littermates turned to see Squirrelpaw holding her paw delicately over the ground. Leafpaw leaped to her paws and sprang across the clearing to her side. As Swiftpaw and Cloudpaw followed more slowly, they saw Squirrelpaw turn her paw over to reveal a thorn driven deep in her pad.

"Ouch," Swiftpaw grimaced.

"Come to the medicine den," Leafpaw meowed. "This will need herbs to prevent infection."

"Great!" Squirrelpaw meowed sarcastically. "Now Dustpelt can add clumsiness to all the problems he has with me. And that mouse-brain Brambletuft will say how he never got thorns, too."

"You leave them to us, Squirrel," Cloudpaw meowed, butting his head against her shoulder. "They won't stand a chance."

Squirrelpaw purred, "I'd hope so. I don't think we could be littermates anymore if they did."

Leafpaw led Squirrelpaw away to the fern tunnel while Cloudpaw and Swiftpaw returned to the fresh-kill pile to finish their meals. Their mentors, Frostfur and Graystripe, had released them for the day after vigorous battle training, leaving Cloudpaw's white fur stained brown with dirt. He'd spent a long time grooming the dirt from his long fur, and he swore he could still taste it even after he'd finished his squirrel.

"Cloudpaw, Swiftpaw," Graystripe meowed, padding over to them. "How would you two like to go to the Gathering?"

"Really?" Cloudpaw exclaimed, leaping to his paws.

"Of course, you two have earned it," Graystripe replied.

"Squirrelpaw won't be going, will she?" asked Swiftpaw.

"Skystar thought about bringing her, so all four of you could go, but after the thorn, Cinderpelt doesn't want any weight on her paw for the rest of the night," meowed Graystripe.

"Skystar thought about bringing her even after she ran off?" Cloudpaw meowed in disbelief.

Graystripe dipped his broad head. "She had no ill intentions by running off, and she's not the first apprentice to do so. Skystar herself ran off multiple times as an apprentice, and I assume she knows what Squirrelpaw is feeling. Besides, Bluestar let her go a few times even after getting in trouble," he explained.

Frostfur, Cloudpaw's mentor, padded over to join them. "It's best if you rest before tonight. Gatherings are usually tiring," she meowed.

"Right, see you tonight," Cloudpaw raised his tail in farewell to their mentors before pushing into the apprentices' den with Swiftpaw close behind.

The full moon rode high in the sky as Skystar led the cats from ThunderClan up the slope toward Fourtrees. Padding alongside Frostfur, Cloudpaw raised his head proudly as he was chosen to represent his Clan tonight. This was the place where the territories of all four Clans joined together. At every full moon, the Clan leaders met here with their warriors under the sacred truce of StarClan to exchange news and make decisions that would affect the whole forest.