Starlight

Chapter 4

When Hawkfrost had finished speaking and leaped down from the tree stump, Feathertail looked around for Mistyfoot. She was eager to tell her deputy what she and Hawkfrost had found, and she wanted to see how the kits were doing.

She spotted Dawnflower and bounded over. "Have you seen Mistyfoot?"

The pale gray queen shook her head.

Feathertail mewed a farewell and went back to looking. Mistyfoot's dark gray pelt blended well in the darkening sky, and she would be hard to find along with her mate and eldest son. Stretching her neck, Feathertail strained to listen for any sign of her former mentor through the massive crowd. Every cat from all four Clans were talking excitedly with each other, but she noticed that they were parting into their own groups to hear about the territories. Trusting Hawkfrost to go into detail alone, she weaved through the cats.

"Hey, Feathertail," a voice called. It was Ferncloud, a ThunderClan queen. She was sitting in a group of ThunderClan cats, her kits curled up together beside her. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I'm just trying to find Mistyfoot."

"Why don't you come join us for now?" Ferncloud suggested. "It'll be hard to find her through all the excitement, and I miss talking with you."

Feathertail nodded gratefully and settled beside her friend, murmuring a greeting to Larchkit who had drowsily lifted her head. Through a few cats, she could see Squirrelflight describing what they had found. But there was something odd in how she was acting. Squirrelflight's eyes were too wide, too bright, and she kept looking around as if trying to spot a cat who wasn't there. After a moment, Feathertail realized that Brambletuft was nowhere to be found, and wondered if something had happened between her two friends.

"Is this hollow empty?" Dustpelt asked. He was sitting in front of Squirrelflight with Sandstorm at his side; their one surviving kit, Spiderpaw, was off talking to some of the apprentices from the other Clans, not at all bothering to listen to what was being said. "It would be just like you, Squirrelflight, to expect us to camp in a badger's set."

Squirrelflight's tail curled indignantly. "Dustpelt, I promise I'll eat any badgers you find in there. Foxes, too. We didn't scent anything like that."

Dustpelt grunted.

"I think it sounds great." Brightheart stepped forward and pressed her muzzle against the young warrior's side. "How did you find it?"

"I. . . well, I fell into it," Squirrelflight admitted.

Cloudpaw let out a snort of laughter. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Now look—" Squirrelflight spun around to face the white apprentice, but before she could say any more a yowl rose into the air.

"Cats of all Clans!"

Feathertail turned to see that Cinderpelt had climbed onto the stump, the moonlight turning her gray fur silver. She signaled with her tail for silence, and the excited mewing gradually died away.

"Before we separate and go into our own territories," the ThunderClan medicine cat meowed, "we must decide where we're going to hold the next Gathering. StarClan will expect us to meet together when the full moon comes."

"But where?" asked Russetfur, the ShadowClan deputy. "Did the patrols find anywhere like Fourtrees?"

Nightcloud, who was sitting near the base of the stump, rose to her paws. "No," she replied, raising her voice so all the Clans could hear her. "Nowhere like that. But we didn't have time to explore everywhere properly."

"StarClan will show us a place." Littlecloud spoke up from where he was sitting beside Russetfur and Blackstar.

"They might have shown us already." Mothwing sprang to her paws, her amber eyes shining. She began to describe the island close to the shore of the lake. "It's safe, sheltered, and not too far away. Perfect for Gatherings," she finished.