Warriors: Black Rain

Chapter 11

      As Snowstar led the patrol deep into RainClan territory, Scarpaw's nervousness was slowly taken over by excitement. She couldn't help but relish in every scent, each leaf crunching under her paws. On her first training session as an apprentice, Stormspirit and Owltail had taken Scarpaw and Leopardpaw on a tour of the territory, teaching them the best hunting spots and familiarizing the she-cats with their clan's borders; never before had Scarpaw ventured as far as she would tonight, surrounded by her clan-mates. She felt a sudden jolt of pride, causing her pelt to prickle slightly against the pulsing wind.

      Stormspirit appeared at her side, his powerful muscles pushing in sync with Scarpaw as his eyes gleamed in the darkness.
      "The territory here must seem unfamiliar to you. Pay attention, Scarpaw. What can you smell?" Opening her mouth to the air, Scarpaw hesitated before scrunching up her nose in disgust. 

       "Thats ThornClan!" she exclaimed, suddenly feeling anxious. Her surroundings were very unfamiliar, and the sudden indication that they may be headed into enemy territory set Scarpaw on edge.

      "Yes. This is the quickest path to Sky Rocks; we must travel the far edge of the Great Lake, avoiding the stretch of land near MapleClan but drawing us near ThornClan's borders." Scarpaw stared up at her mentor in shock, trying to keep pace with him and the patrol. 

      "What if we were to run into their patrol? Surely ThornClan wouldn't allow us to pass through so easily?" Stormspirit's expression changed, his yellow eyes focused forward.

     "On the night of a gathering, a Clan's patrol is allowed to step foot on another's territory in order to reach Sky-Rocks, as said in the Warrior Code. ThornClan wouldn't dare question the word of StarClan." Scarpaw nodded, looking around them. The patrol was now padding through thick undergrowth, and not far to their left Scarpaw could see the ground dip down into the shore of the Lake through the bushes. She could barely make out the opposite shore in the darkness, but for a moment she thought she could see pairs of glittering eyes staring back at her through the bramble. She tried to see them clearer, running closer to the edge, but they vanished just as quickly as they had appeared.

      "Stormspirit, what's past the opposite shore of the Great Lake?" she breathed, still watching through the bushes. 

       "That is MapleClan territory," he mewed calmy, "the large Maples surrounding the shore signal where our side of the lake begins and ends, along with theirs." Scarpaw nodded, still focused on looking through the bramble. The strange eyes she had seen still had her attention as she felt Stormspirit's nudge as he whispered, "Come now, were falling behind. Sky Rocks isn't much farther."

      The stench of ThornClan was getting heavier in the air as the patrol began to veer away from the Great Lake's edge, now padding through even more unfamiliar territory. The grass had started to thin out, and there were less trees to cover them as the cats pushed on. Scarpaw could see bushes and patches of skinny trees in the distance, guessing the ThornClan camp had to be nearby, but kept pace with the rest of her clan-mates as they continued their journey. They were lucky enough not to encounter an enemy patrol, and even though the Warrior Code declared peace on the night of a gathering, she was unsure of ThornClan's dedication to the code's rules. They had killed Pepperpelt over a border attack, and even though there was no proof it was intentional, all RainClan cats believed her death was planned. They would be meeting tonight, and Scarpaw couldn't help but wonder if Snowstar would address the recent attack on his warriors.
      Scarpaw could feel the anticipation of the cats around her, guessing they were close. The pace quickened through the thick undergrowth until they reached the edge of a ravine, dipping down into a large clearing surrounded with flat stones, getting larger closest to the center. The rocks near the front were raised and jagged, pointing high up towards Silverpelt like newly sharped claws. Looking towards the center of the clearing, Scarpaw could see a small pool of water, still and untouched; the rising moon was slowly becoming visible in its reflection, and she prickled in anticipation when she realized it wouldn't be long now before the moon would be in the center of the sky, and the Gathering would begin.
      Snowstar crouched at the front of his patrol, gazing down into the clearing silently. Scarpaw saw groups of cats mingling below on the flat rocks, recognizing the scents of both ThornClan and MistClan. MapleClan had not yet made it. Taking a few more glances, Snowstar flicked his tail to signal to his patrol, then bounded down the ravine into the clearing. Shuffling their paws to avoid the pool of water in the center, the RainClan cats immediately split off to mingle with the other clans. Stormspirit padded to Scarpaw's side, Toadface with him. The two were friends since their apprenticeship, and Scarpaw wondered how many Gatherings the two had shared.

      "Here we are, Scarpaw. Until the moon appears in the center of this pool, you may go and meet cats from other clans as long as you stay inside of Sky Rocks territory. Once the moon rises however, the Gathering will begin, and you must find your way back to the RainClan patrol." Scarpaw nodded excitedly up at her mentor as he sighed, a gleam of pride in his eyes.

     "Your first gathering... You deserve this, Scarpaw. Try to enjoy it." He turned away with Toadface, both already disappearing in the crowd of cats as Scarpaw looked around. She noticed a small group of apprentices sitting up on a flat rock, Woodpaw among them. He summoned her with a flick of his tail, and she bounded up, bowing her head towards them respectfully. Two smelled strongly of MistClan, and one from ThornClan. None showed any sign of hostility, which calmed her nerves as Scarpaw sat close to Woodpaw.

      "Welcome! We hear this is your first gathering," the ThornClan apprentice mewed, "mine as well. I'm Quickpaw." Scarpaw flicked her ear towards the calico apprentice.

     "Hello. My name's Scarpaw, and this is Woodpaw." The two MistClan apprentices stepped slightly forward, a white she-cat with pale eyes nodding at Scarpaw while the other, a larger tom, sat silently. 

        "Woodpaw already caught us up. I'm Dovepaw, and this is Bushpaw. Welcome to Sky Rocks." Woodpaw smiled, twitching his whiskers in response and Scarpaw did the same. She couldn't shake a prickle of discomfort from speaking so calmly to cats from another clan, and the mingling scents surrounding Sky Rocks confused her. 

       "Is MapleClan here?" she asked, "I don't smell them anywhere." Dovepaw shook her head, looking towards the pool. 

       "No, I havn't seen them at all. It won't be much longer until the moon rises to the center of the sky, surely they don't intend to be late?" Bushpaw grunted next to her. 

      "They'd be bringing the wrath of StarClan onto all of us." 

       Before Scarpaw could respond, a familiar scent caught her attention like a thorn. She looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from, when she saw a crowd of cats bounding down the opposite side of the ravine. Their eyes seemed to glitter in the moonlight as they stumbled to avoid the pool, leaping onto the flat stones to greet the other clans. With a jolt Scarpaw recognized Tanglestar leading them, her head held high as her piercing eyes challenged the cats before her. She settled near the jagged rocks, sitting beside Pebblestar, the leader of Thornclan. Snowstar was sitting nearby with Crowstar, Mistclan's leader, as they both bowed their heads in respect. Tanglestar ignored them.

      "As expected of MapleClan," Woodpaw snorted, "they'd be late if StarClan themselves came down and declared a meeting." Scarpaw was too stunned to acknowledge his comment. She couldn't take her eyes off of their sleek coats, feeling her own paws move her towards the crowd.
"I'll be back," Scarpaw mumbled, leaving the other apprentices to join the larger group of cats below. The moon was almost in the center of the pool, and she didn't have much time- Scarpaw had to know if her sister, Hawkpaw, had been among the MapleClan patrol.